Government may raise electricity prices

The government plans to raise electricity prices under a mechanism linking the charges to rising coal costs, the China Securities Journal reported Thursday, quoting an official at top generator Huaneng group.

..Power companies say higher fuel costs threaten their profits. However, the longer talks drag on, the less likely a significant price increase becomes because global prices for the fuel are expected to weaken, analysts say.

Despite the deadlock, coal supplies have continued based on last year’s prices, ensuring the country’s fast-growing economy is not starved of power.

Xinhua