Rumors on Shanghai electricity price hike denied
Shanghai Development and Reform Commission has denied any electricity price hikes.
Local residents have complained about the unusually high December electricity bills, some of which were four or 10 times higher than those for November.
A post with the title "electricity price increase" claimed that "Shanghai electricity prices have gone up since December 2022."
The commission called it "a rumor" and denied there had been any price hikes for residential electricity in either Shanghai or China, while the current rates have remained the same since 2012.
According to the price catalogs, Shanghai's electricity prices are divided into three levels based on the year's total electricity consumption. Electricity companies charge users different prices, between 0.617 yuan (9 US cents) and 0.917 yuan per kWh. At each level, there are two prices for peak and valley usage.
State Grid Shanghai said it has not received any notice from government bureaus about price adjustments. It called screenshots in online posts "not true."
Any changes to residential electricity prices or other costs of living have to be made public for opinion solicitation, usually one month in advance, according to city regulations.
But some residents did receive high December electricity bills, according to a Shanghai livelihood platform called Liba. Some of the bills were more than 500 yuan.
The platform said there were a number of reasons. First, the pandemic has forced residents to stay at home longer than usual, leading to more electricity consumption; secondly, the cold winter in Shanghai boosted heating consumption; also, most residents stayed at home during the lockdown period in the first half, fueling the yearly electricity consumption to the highest rate level.
If residents have questions about their electricity bills, they can call the State Grid customer service hotline at 95598.
