Power prices

GlobalPost
The World

China is hoping that higher power prices for farms and industry will help it fend off looming electricity shortages this summer, even at the risk of boosting inflation.

The central government’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Monday that it would raise non-residential electricity rates as of Wednesday, June 1. The first power price increase in a year (not applied to residential customers) is intended to push industry toward saving energy in the face of looming shortages.

China’s state-run media reports that demand is outstripping power production for a number of reasons and the country is facing some of the most severe power shortages on record this summer.

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