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Lower electricity and gas prices – full support for enterprises to resume production and operations. Author/Source: China Fertilizer Network. Date: February 25, 2020. Clicks: 136. In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the **** and the State Council, as well as to balance epidemic prevention and control with economic development, the **Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on the 22nd calling for a temporary reduction in the electricity costs for enterprises, as well as the early application of off-peak pricing for natural gas, in order to support enterprises in resuming production and operations and helping them overcome difficulties. “After the outbreak of the pandemic, the production and operations of most enterprises, particularly those in the small and medium-sized service and manufacturing sectors, were affected, resulting in significantly increased operational pressures. ”**A responsible official from the Development and Reform Commission said. The notice specifies that from February 1, 2020, to June 30 of the same year, the electricity costs for power users who are not in high-energy-consuming industries and who currently pay the standard industrial and commercial electricity rates or large-industry electricity rates will be reduced temporarily, with payments being calculated at 95% of the original rate applied to each household. The official stated that for the electricity fees already paid by users, the power grid companies should refund or offset them in accordance with the reduced price standards. Previously, the **Development and Reform Commission introduced a two-part tariff policy to provide support during the epidemic prevention and control period, focusing on reducing the cost of capacity (demand) charges for customers using this tariff structure; in addition, high-reliability power supply fees were waived for newly built or expanded medical facilities. Regarding this policy, the notice specifies that it will also remain in effect until June 30, 2020. The official said that this price reduction policy will benefit around 50 million users, covering a electricity consumption of approximately 3.2 trillion kilowatt-hours, which accounts for about three-quarters of the total electricity consumption by industrial and commercial users. Based on a 5% reduction, the cost per kilowatt-hour can be lowered by 3.3 cents; it is estimated that this will result in a reduction of about 44 billion yuan in the electricity costs for enterprises from February to June. Preliminary estimates show that a supportive two-tier electricity pricing policy could reduce enterprises’ electricity costs by approximately 15 billion yuan. Together, these two policies can reduce enterprises’ electricity costs by approximately 59 billion yuan. “It is currently the peak season for winter consumption, and upstream gas suppliers increase the price of gas for non-residential users subject to **guideline prices by up to 20%, with actual prices in those cases that are not subject to such limits being even higher. ”**A responsible official from the Development and Reform Commission said. In order to minimize the gas costs for enterprises as much as possible, it has been decided, within the framework of the current natural gas pricing mechanism, to implement a off-peak pricing policy in advance. “Under normal circumstances, the period during which the off-season pricing policy is in effect runs from mid-March to mid-November; this time, the off-season pricing policy is implemented earlier, with even greater price discounts available by the end of June. ”The official said. To ensure that the price reduction measures are implemented as soon as possible, the official stated that efforts will be made to strengthen the implementation of these policies, improve monitoring and coordination, and promptly identify and resolve any issues that arise during their implementation, so as to guarantee a smooth rollout of the policies.