China's National Development and Reform Commission official Cao Changqing told a press conference on Wednesday morning, July 25, 2007 that more time is needed for further observation before the urge from five major electricity generation groups for a further electricity price increase is enacted. [Photo: china.com.cn]

China's five major electricity generation groups, the mainstay of the country's power industry, have formally written to the central government, calling for a further electricity price increase.

According to Wednesday's Beijing Times, this is the third time since the beginning of this year that China's main power producers have lodged their joint price increase applications to the National Development and Reform Commission under the State Council. The report says the five state-run power groups' call for electricity price rise is in response to an increase in the prices of coal, increasing government demand for nationwide reductions in pollution and high power consumptions.

An official from the Commission, Cao Changqing, told a press conference on Wednesday that more time is needed for further observation before  the government considers the request.

In 2006, China's electricity price saw an overall rise around the country, with electricity price for civilians in Beijing, for instance, being raised from 0.48 yuan per kilowatt hour to 0.4883 yuan per kilowatt hour.  

At present, civilian households only take ten percent of China's annual electricity consumption total, while 76 percent of its power consumptions have gone to industrial sectors. The remaining 14 percent of electricity have been all consumed by other heavy industries. During electricity consumption peaks every summer, China normally sees an estimated power shortage of five to six million kilowatts hours.

The Beijing Times report adds, one of the reasons the central government has not yet given green light to the power producers' call for electricity price rise is that prices for consumer goods have seen an all round increases since the beginning of 2007. The country's Consumer Price Index rose by 4.4% in June, reaching a record high in 33 months.