US EditionChinese villagers struggle for heat as gas subsidies fade
Gas subsidies in Hebei province have mostly ended, causing heating costs to reach up to 8,000 yuan per winter, about one third of a farmer’s annual income, officials said.
- Earlier this week, families in Hebei province are bundling under quilts and avoiding gas heaters after local subsidies were phased out, Xinhua reported.
- Beijing ordered rural homes to switch from coal in 2017, and local governments in Hebei initially offered hefty subsidies, but those supports were scheduled to shrink as price controls relaxed and utilities faced 9.5 billion yuan losses in 2022.
- A villager in Xingtai said gas heaters could push his winter bill to at least 8,000 yuan, while restaurant worker Yin Chunlan reported some households face annual bills of 7,000 yuan or more and monthly costs near 1,000 yuan.
- A Weibo video showed gas meters barely moving as temperatures fell below minus 10C, while state media removed hardship reports and China's central government ministry promised special funds without rollout details.
- Amid blue‑skies celebrations in Beijing earlier this week, China's Ministry of Finance said it distributed 13.2 billion yuan for clean heating in Hebei province in 2021, but three‑year subsidies will not be renewed.
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The Straits TimesChinese Villagers Shiver in Winter as Gas Subsidies Phased Out
(Bloomberg) — Villagers near China’s capital are facing a bitter winter, with many unable to afford gas heating after the phaseout of local subsidies intended to relieve the cost of Beijing’s campaign for cleaner air.
The policy of replacing coal-fired heating in China, although ambitious in environmental terms, comes up against the harsh economic reality of many households. Residents of rural areas, faced with prohibitive bills, give up heating despite winter temperatures. In northern China, a public policy aimed at [...] Read more The energy transition leaves rural households in the cold has appeared first on Le Singulier.
China’s Villagers Struggle to Stay Warm as Government Gas Subsidies Fade, Leaving Rural Homes Freezing in Northern Hebei
Nearly a decade after Beijing launched a nationwide push to curb coal burning and combat winter smog, residents in northern Hebei province are facing a new challenge: affording the high cost of clean heating. With government subsidies for natural gas… The post China’s Villagers Struggle to Stay Warm as Government Gas Subsidies Fade, Leaving Rural Homes Freezing in Northern Hebei appeared first on The Asia Live.
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