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For power companies, **the latest data from the Electricity Regulatory Commission presents both good and bad news.** The concern is that as the amount of new electricity generation continues to increase, the utilization rate of thermal power plants across the country keeps falling ； Fortunately, the cost of flue gas desulfurization equipment added for environmental protection has dropped significantly, which means that power companies’ expenses in this area will gradually decrease. The Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed yesterday that in 2007, the power supply and demand across the country further eased, with the operating hours of power generation equipment continuing to decline significantly. The average cumulative equipment utilization hours for power plants with a capacity of 6,000 kilowatts and above across the country were 5,011 hours, a decrease of 187 hours compared to the previous year. The utilization rate of power generation equipment continues to decline. The cumulative average operating hours of power generation equipment is an important indicator of the degree to which such equipment is idle; the lower this figure, the lower the utilization rate of the equipment, and consequently, the less electricity generated. Due to easing supply and demand, the utilization hours of power generation equipment have been declining gradually since 2005. According to data from the China Electricity Council, the cumulative average utilization hours in 2005 were 5,411 hours, a decrease of 44 hours compared with the previous year. In 2006, it decreased by another 203 hours year-on-year. The trends in the generation hours for hydropower and thermal power are different. In 2007, the utilization hours of hydropower equipment were 3,532 hours, an increase of 139 hours compared with the previous year. The utilization hours of thermal power equipment were 5,316 hours, an increase of 296 hours compared with the previous year. The cumulative average operating hours of power generation equipment are declining year by year, mainly due to the addition of a large number of new power units. Yesterday, the Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed that in 2007, the total installed power capacity across the country exceeded 700 million kilowatts, reaching 713.29 million kilowatts. New power capacity added that year was nearly 100 million kilowatts, representing a 14.36% increase on a year-on-year basis. It is also reported that in 2007, a total of 14.38 million kilowatts worth of small thermal power units were shut down across the country. Nevertheless, the power supply and demand are still showing a gradual easing trend. For listed companies in the power generation sector, a decline in the number of hours of power generation will affect their performance. The cost of flue gas desulfurization continues to decline. The Electricity Regulatory Commission also released information on energy conservation and environmental protection in the power sector yesterday. According to reports, by the end of 2007, the installed capacity of flue gas desulfurization systems in thermal power plants across the country exceeded 270 million kilowatts, accounting for over 50% of the total capacity of thermal power units in the country. Compared with the end of the 10th Five-Year Plan period, the capacity of such desulfurization systems in thermal power plants had increased by more than 53 times. Thanks to the vigorous promotion of the localization and commercialization of flue gas desulfurization equipment, the costs associated with such projects as well as the operating costs for desulfurization have decreased significantly. The cost per kilowatt for flue gas desulfurization in newly built large coal-fired power plants dropped from 1,200 yuan at the end of the \"Eighth Five-Year Plan\" period to 500 yuan by the end of the \"Ninth Five-Year Plan\" period, and it has since fallen to around 200 yuan today – roughly one-fifth of the cost in developed countries. Experts say this means that the related power companies are spending less on this aspect, which helps to advance the environmental protection efforts of thermal power plants. At the end of 2007, the **Development and Reform Commission** and the **Environmental Protection Administration** jointly issued the \"Provisions on the Electricity Pricing for Desulfurization in Coal-Fired Power Generators and the Management Measures for the Operation of Desulfurization Facilities (Trial)\". These provisions called for accelerating the construction of flue gas desulfurization facilities in coal-fired power plants, increasing the operational rate of such facilities, and reducing sulfur dioxide emissions.