By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-26 08:53

Electricity charges

Cao also said the government needs to further weigh the possibility of allowing price hikes for electricity, both for industrial and household purposes.

Pushed by growing coal prices, China's five major electricity generation groups, the mainstay of the country's power industry, are reported to have appealed to the central government for a further price increase.

According to Beijing Times, this is the third time this year that China's main power producers have jointly appealed to the NDRC for a price rise.

China's coal prices are already market-determined but the government still regulates prices of electricity, about 80 percent of which comes from coal. But coal prices have been pushed up by growing electricity demand in keeping with the blistering growth.

The five State-owned power groups' call for electricity price rise follows the government's demand for nationwide reduction in pollution and power consumptions.

Beijing Times said the reason the government has not given the green light to power producers to raise prices is the fear of further inflation.

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