Shanghai deputies call for 'cold day allowances'
Updated: 2013-01-31 16:40
By Wang Zhenghua in Shanghai (chinadaily.com.cn)
|
|||||||||||
Deputies to Shanghai's legislative meetings have appealed for "cold day allowances" to help residents keep warm in winter, amid public calls for government-backed heating services in a large swathe of South China.
Huang Chen, a deputy to Shanghai People's Congress, said that as the government cannot provide public heating service in winter, it can consider giving allowance to residents so that people can use air conditioning to keep warm.
He suggested families with elderly people at home, who need heating around the clock, should be given an allowance up to 880 yuan ($141) in winter.
For families with no members at home in the daytime, the government should give half of the allowance.
Shanghai cannot copy the central heating system model adopted in northern China because the city, with a marine climate, has a shorter period of time that needs heating in winter and doesn't have a central heating tradition, said Huang, deputy dean of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology's School of Environment and Architecture.
Also, the city has adopted a "ladder pricing" model for electricity since July – which charges families more if they consume a certain amount of energy, and the government can use the extra income from electricity fees to subsidize families, she added.
A proposal delivered by five members to the city's top advisory body also called for giving families a 50 percent discount to their electricity bills in December, which will lessen residents' financial burden when they have to turn on appliances such as air-conditioners and electric heaters to get warmth in winter.
Earlier this month, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ministry said it discouraged the heating model in northern China, featuring the use of coal and a highly centralized heating system, being adopted in the south.
Electricity and renewable energy-powered heating should be promoted in South China, the ministry said.
Related Stories
Debate about public heating in South China 2013-01-07 13:42
Liaoning to replace small heating boilers 2013-01-16 19:57
Govt vows to restore heating after accident 2013-01-14 08:06
Heating resumes for some residents in Liaoyang 2012-12-28 19:08
Today's Top News
Police continue manhunt for 2nd bombing suspect
H7N9 flu transmission studied
8% growth predicted for Q2
Nuke reactor gets foreign contract
First couple on Time's list of most influential
'Green' awareness levels drop in Beijing
Palace Museum spruces up
Trading channels 'need to broaden'
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
Poultry industry under pressure |
'Spring' in the air for NGOs? |
Boy set to drive Chinese golf |
Latest technology gets people talking |
Firms crave cyber connection |