People & the Planet
September 2, 2007

China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has stepped up the pressure on electricity suppliers to ‘go green’. It will assume nationwide oversight over power companies that are required under the country’s renewable energy law to prioritize purchases of the maximum amount of ‘green’ electricity. According to a report in the Worldwatch Institute’s China Watch series, a recent regulation from SERC details the authority and measures necessary for SERC to integrate renewable sources into power systems, including government subsidies in power pricing and exemption from competitive bidding. Under the ruling, renewable power includes energy generated from sources such as hydropower, wind power, biomass, solar power, tidal power, and geothermal energy. A supplementary regulation on renewable power pricing and cost sharing, authored by the National Development and Reform Committee, also requires power suppliers on the grid to purchase renewable electricity at either a government-fixed or a government-directed price. The additional cost of renewable energy is to be borne by electricity users.