The eastern city of Yangzhou began to recruit 100 "energy
police", or inspectors to check on energy saving practices, while
their counterparts in Beijing were on the job as of Monday.
The "energy police" will check whether energy consumption in
offices, hotels, schools, shopping malls, supermarkets and other
big buildings meet national standards such as keeping the air
conditioning no cooler than 26 degrees Celsius and heating no
higher than 20 degrees Celsius.
If energy consumption is found to be too high, the "energy
police" will issue a warning note. The owners of the buildings
could be fined if they neglect the warning.
Air conditioners account for 30-35 percent of power consumption
in Yangzhou of Jiangsu Province?during the summer and if they
operate according to national standards a great deal of energy will
be saved, the local government said.
The central government launched a week-long campaign on Sunday
to raise awareness of the need to save energy, with government
ministers saying all sectors of society have a responsibility to
reduce consumption.
As part of the campaign, members of the public will be urged to
use public transport or bikes to travel to work and to reduce the
use of air conditioners at home.
Under its latest five-year plan, the government wants to reduce
energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent
by 2010.
(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2007)