广播听力: China raises price of electricity for non-residential use

The Chinese government has raised the price of electricity for non-residential use by an average of 2.8 fen, or 0.4 U.S. cents, per kilowatt hour as of Friday. Experts say the small price hike will cause limited cost increases for productive enterprises. But at the same time, they say the price increase indicates that the country has become more aware of promoting energy conservation and resource efficiency. Wu Jia has more details.

Zhou Dadi, an energy expert, says the impact of the government's recent electricity price hike on manufacturers will be limited.

"This year the country's producer price index saw continuous negative growth, so this round of electricity price increases will not have much impact on productive enterprises. But for ones in high power-consumption industries, their costs will see an evident rise."(www.hXen.com)

Nevertheless, Zhou says the move may help to make up some of the financial losses of the country's electricity grid operators.

The State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid, the country's two leading power grid operators, lost a total of 16 billion yuan, or 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, during the first eight months of the year.

What's more, residential electricity prices are not being