CHINA is to introduce graduated tariffs for residential-use power as part of the nation's effort to reformenergy prices.

Based on volume, the graduated structure will penalize higher users with a higher rate but keep power bills basically unchanged for most households nationwide.

"To adopt a graduated power tariffpolicy for residents has become a key measure for many countries short of energy to address rising energy prices and curb irrational energy consumption," the National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday.

Residential tariffs are typically 1.5 to 2 times those of industrial-use power in foreign nations because delivering power to households - at the end of the grid and with low voltage level - is the costliest, the NDRC said.

In China, residential power is cheaper as the government subsidizes prices.

A graduated mechanism will improve China's power tariffstructure and spur energyconservation, the top planning agency said. The additional charges will be used to cover higher power purchase costs for grid companies and for upgrading residential meters.

The government decided to divide residential power tariffs into three categories: for basic needs, for normal and reasonable demand, and for high living quality needs. It released two proposals yesterday to solicit public opinion.

In the first, the basic needs category will be the average monthly use of 70 percent of local households that consume the least power in a province or municipality" target="_blank" title="n.自治市；市政当局">municipality, with no changes in tariffs.

In the second proposal, that category will be the average use of 80 percent of local residents, and price will increase by around 0.01 yuan per kilowatt-hour from current levels.

The second category will be the average use of 90 percent or 95 percent of households in the two proposals, with tariffs to be raised by 0.05 yuan per kwh to levels that power companies can break even or make a reasonable profit.

Tariffs in the third category, or for high living quality needs, will go up at least 0.2 yuan per kwh to reflect the scarcity of resources and the need to protect the environment.

For comparison, the residential power tariff is 0.617 yuan a kwh in Shanghai and that halves during night time. Rates vary among provinces.

Provincial and municipal governments will later work out their detailed plans on the graduated system, which has already been introduced on a trial basis in Zhejiang, Fujian and Sichuan.

Based on the nationwide average in 2009, 110 kwh can meet the demand of 70 percent of households per month, 140 kwh for 80 percent, and 270 kwh for 95 percent. That means a household consuming 300 kwh a month will pay 23 yuan more under proposal one and 13.9 yuan more under proposal two.

• reform [ri´fɔ:m] v.&n.改革；改良；革除 (初中英语单词)
• energy [´enədʒi] n.活力，精力；能力 (初中英语单词)
• volume [´vɔlju:m, ´vɑljəm] n.卷；书籍；体积；容量 (初中英语单词)
• structure [´strʌktʃə] n.结构，构造；组织 (初中英语单词)
• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)
• additional [ə´diʃənəl] a.附加的，额外的 (初中英语单词)
• normal [´nɔ:məl] a.正规的 n.正常状态 (初中英语单词)
• reasonable [´rizənəbəl] a.合理的；有理智的 (初中英语单词)
• consume [kən´sju:m] v.毁灭；浪费；憔悴 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• reflect [ri´flekt] v.反射；反响；表达 (初中英语单词)
• comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较；对照；比喻 (初中英语单词)
• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• tariff [´tærif] n.价目表；分类关税 (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
• conservation [,kɔnsə´veiʃən] n.保存；节约；守恒 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• monthly [´mʌnθli] a.每月(的) n.月刊 (高中英语单词)
• environment [in´vaiərənmənt] n.郊区；周围；条件 (高中英语单词)
• municipal [mju:´nisipəl] a.市政的；地方性的 (高中英语单词)
• policy [´pɔlisi] n.政策；权谋；保险单 (英语四级单词)
• mechanism [´mekənizəm] n.机械装置；机制 (英语四级单词)
• solicit [sə´lisit] v.恳求，请求 (英语四级单词)
• scarcity [´skeəsiti] n.缺乏；不足；稀少 (英语四级单词)
• provincial [prə´vinʃəl] a.省的 n.外省人 (英语四级单词)
• unchanged [ʌn´tʃeindʒd] a.不变的；依然如故的 (英语六级单词)
• category [´kætigəri] n.种类；部属；范畴 (英语六级单词)
• municipality [,mju:nisi´pæliti] n.自治市；市政当局 (英语六级单词)