Shanghai government is struggling in its bid to promote electricity generated using environmentally friendly methods among the city's population.
The city charges an extra 53 fen (US 6 cents) for electricity generated in this way, nearly double the price of peak-priced electricity produced conventionally.
But the city is set to push ahead with the development of power generated using methods such as wind and solar power, instead of burning coal.
Jin Liting, a 31-year-old accountant who lives alone, said the price would be too much for her.
"In summer I usually pay about 300 yuan (US$36) a month for electricity, which is not a small amount compared to my 2,700 (US$326) monthly salary," said Jin. "If I used green power, the bill would be at least double."
Shanghai sets different prices for electricity depending on the time it is used. It is 30 cents (3.6 US cents) in off-peak hours and 61 cents (7 US cents) in peak hours.
So far the city government has persuaded 15 local enterprises, including Baosteel, to buy all Shanghai's "green" electricity. It can currently produce 6.2 million kilowatt-hours a year.
This is the current capacity of "green" power the city is able to generate, Jiao Yang, the spokeswoman for the municipal government announced yesterday.
Mao Xiongfei, from Shanghai Energy Conservation Association, said: "The enterprises have agreed to pay more for this 'green' energy to arouse people's awareness of clean energy."
The move is also aimed at improving the firms' public image.
"They will definitely get back what they have spent from the public exposure," said Xiong.
Jiao said the extra money the enterprises paid for their electricity will be used to develop more green power stations, as currently such supplies only constitute a small proportion of the city's total power supply.
Power consumption on Tuesday in the city went to 15.4 million kilowatt- hours as the city experienced another day of high temperatures.
But as a coastal city with more than 2,000 hours of sunshine a year, Shanghai has great potential for developing "green" power like wind and solar energy, which will initially cost more to develop than conventional power sources.
By the end of this year, Shanghai will have more than 20 million kilowatt-hours of "green" power supplies when new wind power stations in Chongming County and Nanhui District are finished.
(China Daily June 30, 2005)
