With coal prices soaring to an all-time high in China, which is suffering from severe electricity shortages, the Chinese government has announced a policy to completely liberalize electricity prices for coal-fired power plants.
According to Reuters, China’s National Development and Reform Commission said today that 100% of the electricity obtained from coal power generation will be supplied through market transactions, without stating the exact timing of implementation.
China’s measures are one of the measures against the energy crisis to alleviate difficulties in power plant operation and increase power generation.
China currently applies market prices to only 70% of the electricity it gets from coal-fired power plants.
Only 44% of industrial and commercial electricity users in China use electricity at market prices, while the rest are supplied with electricity at fixed prices.
Local experts predict that industrial electricity consumption will decrease by 12% in the fourth quarter due to a decrease in coal supply.
Earlier, during a meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang of China on the 8th, the State Council of China decided to increase the upper limit of the increase in coal electricity prices from the baseline to 20% from the current 10-15%.
(Photo = Provided by Getty Images, Yonhap News)
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