Ban on cheap power
By Richard Fu |
August 7, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA has canceled all preferential power rates enjoyed by energy-intensive industries as of July 14, a move that could help the nation's effort to save energy, reduce emissions and phase out obsolete capacity.
The cancellations involved more than 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) in power charges and industries in 22 provinces and autonomous regions, the National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday.
The NDRC and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission in May ordered local governments to stop offering favorable tariffs to energy-guzzling sectors, a move that would add production costs to companies such as Aluminum Corp of China.
The authorities also imposed tariff surcharges on certain companies that were extremely inefficient and polluting after China reported a 3.2 percent rise in energy intensity in the first quarter following consecutive falls in the previous four years.
The first-quarter figure has endangered the government's goal to cut energy intensity, or the energy used to create each unit of GDP, by 20 percent in the five years to 2010.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics this week showed the indicator grew 0.09 percent in the first half from a year earlier.
The central government had previously asked for an end to preferential tariffs to energy-intensive companies, but such requests were often ignored, particularly after the global financial crisis. Local governments, typically in central and western regions, see such industries as the main contributor to their economies.
The cancellations involved more than 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) in power charges and industries in 22 provinces and autonomous regions, the National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday.
The NDRC and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission in May ordered local governments to stop offering favorable tariffs to energy-guzzling sectors, a move that would add production costs to companies such as Aluminum Corp of China.
The authorities also imposed tariff surcharges on certain companies that were extremely inefficient and polluting after China reported a 3.2 percent rise in energy intensity in the first quarter following consecutive falls in the previous four years.
The first-quarter figure has endangered the government's goal to cut energy intensity, or the energy used to create each unit of GDP, by 20 percent in the five years to 2010.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics this week showed the indicator grew 0.09 percent in the first half from a year earlier.
The central government had previously asked for an end to preferential tariffs to energy-intensive companies, but such requests were often ignored, particularly after the global financial crisis. Local governments, typically in central and western regions, see such industries as the main contributor to their economies.
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