In June of this year the State Council arranged special inspections of high-energy consumption and high emission industries, indicating that significant progress has been made nation-wide in the implementation of differential power price policies and that the implementation is balanced around the country. On October 11 a notice was issued on the official website of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) by the NDRC, the Ministry of Finance and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) in order to ensure the full implementation of policies of differential power prices.

The notice stated that relevant departments should strengthen their identification of enterprises with high-energy consumption and adjust their use of differential power pricing regarding income. All increased income resulting from differential power price policies would be turned over to local treasuries and would be included in provincial financial budgets that separately manage income and expenditure, in order to support this adjustment of local economic structures and promote energy-saving and emission-reduction.

The note also stated that the preferential power price policies for electrolytic aluminum, ferroalloy and chlor-alkali enterprises are now cancelled.

The NDRC and the SERC will organize a nationwide special inspection of power prices during the fourth quarter of this year to focus on the implementation of differential power price policies.

(China.org.cn, by Yang Xi October 12, 2007)