A survey of China's household power supply safety was published last week by the China Consumers' Association, the Standardization Administration of China, the China Household Electric Appliance Research Institute, and the China Household Electrical Appliances Association. The survey shows that 76 percent of urban households have unsafe power supply environments.

The survey was conducted shortly after International Day for Protecting Consumer's Rights on March 15. Local consumers' associations and administrative departments of quality supervision and inspection in over 20 cities across the country joined forces to conduct the survey.

Eleven key criteria were used in the survey, including the conditions of ground connections and water pipes, and the connections of live and naught wires.

The survey results were quite alarming. Of the 2,386 households surveyed, only 576 met with power supply safety standards. The other 1,810 households, or 75.9 percent, did not match up to standards to varying degrees.

The absence of ground wires and insecure ground connections were the most commonly cited problems.

Analysts said that these survey results, while boding badly for urban households, are only a small hint of how grim the situation is likely to be in rural households. 

The survey also found that water heater related accidents since 1997 numbered more than 1,000 a year, resulting in about 5,900 cases of complaints.

Ma Dejun, general secretary of the Standardization Administration of China, said that electricity-proof wall technology has proven to be the most effective solution to reducing the dangers associated with an "overly electrified" household environment. This technology has been recognized by domestic and foreign experts and will soon be made an international standard.

(China.org.cn November 30, 2005)