Changchun residents facing 40 percent jump in gas bills

Residents in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province, will have to pay a 40 percent increase for natural gas usage, according to a statement released Monday by Changchun Development and Reform Commission.

The price will be 2.8 yuan ($0.45) per cubic meter of natural gas starting April 1, up from 2 yuan. The increase means that each local household will have to pay an additional 200 yuan a year for natural gas, based on average monthly usage of 20 cubic meters.

The price adjustment came five days after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) denied rumors that the country would raise gas prices substantially, in alignment with reforms to make energy prices more market-driven.

Earlier media reports had said that the retail price of natural gas would be raised to a range of between 3 and 3.5 yuan per cubic meter. The reports caused anxiety, and residents queued up to buy natural gas before the price was raised in some provinces like Sichuan.

The price rise in Changchun followed a public hearing held on February 25, and the Changchun NDRC said that representatives participating in the public hearing had approved the plan.

Unlike the State-set pricing mechanism, a market-driven price might hurt consumers' interests in the short term, in the form of surges in energy prices. But it could benefit domestic energy producers and importers, analysts said.