1. SMG TV News Center: Thank you. I am a reporter from SMG TV News Center. I have a question to ask the municipal economic commission’s Spokesman Zhou Minhao. In the speech you delivered just now, you said damages happened to the city’s electricity facilities from time to time, bringing a lot of inconvenience to residents. Have authorities taken any special measures to address the issue?

Zhou Minhao: It is quite often that electricity facilities in Shanghai are damaged or stolen. State authorities have also increased efforts to address the issue. In the first half of this year, there were more than 5,000 cases of intentional damage and theft of electricity facilities in the city. The direct economic loss amounted to more than 47 million yuan, and it was difficult to estimate the indirect loss. We require electricity management authorities to join hands with the public security bureau to strengthen the protection and the management of electricity facilities, including the investigation on the cases. In the mean time, we will intensify the management of construction units. Any construction site near electricity facilities should be put on record by authorities. Construction work should be kept away from high voltage cables. We, together with the related management authorities, will mete out severe punishment to those who defy the rules repeatedly and those companies which often damage electricity facilities. We will take the issue into account, while reviewing construction licenses. Also, we will step up efforts to fight against theft and to solve the theft cases.
On the other hand, we should also pay more attention to recycling stations. The thieves will find no market to dispose of the stolen goods, if no station buys such goods. We should make the thieves feel the hostility from everyone because of their crimes. We will also increase publicity and introduce a reward system to encourage people to report such crimes. A tipster, whose clue proves true, will get up to a 2,000 yuan reward. Any individual who captures and sends suspects to public security authorities will get 500 yuan. These reward measures will also keep improving.

1. Wenhui Daily: Thank you. I am a reporter from Wenhui Daily. I’d like to ask a question. Shanghai was among the first to begin contract energy management. How is the work going now? Is it helpful to the city’s energy management?

Zhou Minhao: Shanghai was among those cities and provinces in the country that began preparing contract energy management quite early. In the first half of this year, we finished the first draft of a contract energy management case book. Addressing the issue that some enterprises under the contract energy management failed to expand the size because of a fund crunch, we have mobilized Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Minsheng Bank and Bank of Shanghai to each establish a 100 million yuan credit line for contract energy management. In the meantime, we have made ready 11 projects of contract energy management, with a combined investment of more than 23 million yuan. When these projects are implemented, they are expected to save about 12,000 tons of standard coal. In the next stage, we will speed up the establishment of an expert committee for contract energy management to improve the mechanism’s construction. We plan to form 120 contract energy service companies within the year to further develop contract energy management companies. We have prepared 100 demonstrative projects in the key energy-saving areas. We will also seek participation of both domestic and overseas investment companies.

2. Mainichi Broadcasting System: I am a reporter from Mainichi TV. Mr Zhou also said just now that the power supply and demand this year is basically balanced. I want to ask if it will affect the production of Japanese plants in Shanghai as well as Chinese plants in case of an insufficiency of power supply. In addition, are there any measures in case of a power cut? Thank you.

Zhou Minhao: Many aspects lie in the issue of power supply. For example, one of Shanghai’s measures to ensure a secure power supply this year is to advocate enterprises saving power consumption and alternating their off days to avoid power use peak.
If the temperature reaches 37 or 38 degrees Celsius for 10 to 20 straight days, the city’s power consumption will keep rising. We did some analysis. In extremely hot weather, a shower that lasts for more than half an hour can help reduce power consumption by at least 1.5 million kilowatts.
If the consumption exceeds our power supply capacity, we will not limit power supply to just Japanese companies, because a power line on our grid may connect Japanese companies and also Chinese ones. Targeting the part of the electricity grid that is overloaded, we will limit the power supply on this part, which may cover Chinese companies and Japanese companies as well. You have no need to worry, however, as we will not apply the limitation to only Japanese companies.
We have also prepared some emergency plans in case of accidents such as typhoons and other devastating weather. Power lines can be cut in such weather. I remember that a tornado cut power cables in the Huangdu area in Jiading District on August 6, 2004. How long will it take to fix the problem?
I take advantage of this chance to explain to the media. Many of you have watched electricity drills, claiming breakdowns can be fixed in four hours in Shanghai. The four-hour target was actually set for the drills. If the malfunction is in the downtown area, technicians from electricity companies can arrive at the scene within 40 minutes after receiving a report. But the time it will take to fix the problem depends on how serious the damage is. The repair work also hinges on the voltage grade of the electricity grid. The resumption may be slow for a 500 kilo-voltage grid, and it will be quicker for 35 kilo-voltage and 10 kilo-voltage grids. If it is a household power glitch, technicians can probably fix the problem at your home. This is determined by the extent of damage.

3. Now Business News Channel: I am a reporter from Hong Kong’s Now Business News Channel. I’d like to ask a question about business. You have preplanned a lot of scenarios to cope with any emergency situation. For instance, there are plans to transfer power, plans to adjust off days of plants and plans to introduce an alternate off-duty mechanism. How do you estimate how many enterprises will be affected in your plans? And how do you estimate how much these operations will be affected in case such plans need to be put into use?

Zhou Minhao: We give a definition to those enterprises if we will adjust or alternate off days. They are inconsecutive production enterprises. For example, power plant is an enterprise of successive production, as power generators cannot stop. They must keep working 24 hours. Therefore, it will be meaningless to ask a power plant to alternate workers’off days.
However, machine tool processing is inconsecutive production. What’s the meaning of off day alternation? For example, Monday and Tuesday are originally workdays. You swap them with Saturday and Sunday. Generally speaking, it will not affect production of an enterprise. There is another alternation. We generally have two days off in a week. In this scenario, you may have one day off in a week, but you can have a longer holiday in another week. This will also cast no impact on a company’s production. Every enterprise and different areas have room for adjustment. We expect them to intentionally stagger power use during peak times. According to economic data, we found this practice didn’t dent Shanghai’s industrial and economic development.

4. China Economic Herald: I am a reporter from the China Economic Herald. Mr Zhou mentioned just now that we will limit indoor temperatures in many air-conditioned public buildings. I am wondering if the limitation will apply to shopping malls. If true, how do we make sure it is implemented?

Zhou Minhao: The State Council has specified that indoor temperatures should be kept above 26 degrees Celsius in summer. We will gradually step up inspections to check if the 26-degree requirement has been carried out. When the state legislature passes regulations on the requirement, it will be a must to meet the 26-degree standard. Below 26 degrees, fines may be incurred, or the charges on the part that exceeds the power consumption quota will double. At present, these are still proposals. As time goes by, these will likely become reality.

Chen Qiwei: What Mr Zhou Minhao is saying is still just a proposal. This is not a new policy that Shanghai is set to enforce.

Zhou Minhao: There are similar practices across the world. The State Council is also advocating saving energy. In fact, if indoor temperature differs from outdoor temperature too much–for example, if air-conditioning keeps the indoor temperature at only 20 degrees Celsius while outdoors it is 37 degrees, you will feel uncomfortable after wandering in a number of malls. Raising the indoor temperature is also good for people’s health, actually.

5. Oriental Morning Post: I have a question to ask Mr Zhou if our plans to adjust or alternate off days will affect workers’salaries, because they may work less time. The other question goes to Mr Chen. I heard that the next auction of private car plates will be the last one this year, so the quota has been raised to 7,500. I wonder if it will be the last auction of private car plates this year. In addition, I also heard of that the city will introduce“Hu K”plates soon. Its usage will be similar to“Hu C”plates. Is this news true?

Chen Qiwei: The second question you raised is about other aspects. I have already said it is a topical news conference today. After the meeting, you can contact the spokesperson team for the municipal government, and we will help you.

Zhou Minhao: Generally speaking, the amount of time worked will not change no matter if schedules change. At the same time, we also hope workers’working time will be controlled during the summer, from a perspective of building a harmonious society. And enterprises should not reduce the salaries of workers. For the construction industry and some industrial companies that need outdoor work, temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius will not just be an issue of power use. Why is outdoor work banned? At production sites, or in the middle of a road, the temperature is very likely to be higher than 35 degrees. That’s why the national labor and social security ministry has this special requirement. It is a requirement to safeguard workers’personal safety and production safety. It will not affect workers’pay. You can have no worries.

6. Shanghai Securities News: I am a reporter from the Shanghai Securities News. I’d like to ask Mr Zhou a question. You mentioned just now that we are likely to seek more financing channels, including domestic and overseas investment funds, in contract energy management. Is there any specific measure in this aspect now? Thanks.

Zhou Minhao: Our work in the next stage to push forward contract energy management will take the city’s overall energy saving into account. We welcome any company as long as their funds can help us save energy and reduce discharges. But I am unable to tell you what kind of funds will participate, from an angle of a securities newspaper. This is a question that involved companies should respond.

7. Shanghai Daily: I am a reporter from Shanghai Daily. In the release, it mentioned we came across some obstacles while building the power grid. I want to ask if we have some special measures to deal with these obstacles to construction. In addition to increased publicity, what concrete measures will we take to ensure these projects will meet their schedules? Or will we cancel any projects?

Zhou Minhao: I didn’t specify this issue just now, as the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission is in charge of the planning of Shanghai’s electricity grid construction. We are the agency in charge of the operation of power facilities. As we all know, electricity generated from a power plant will be transferred to users via an electricity grid. The electricity transfer is realized by a high-voltage grid. And the power will be transformed into medium-voltage electricity, and low-voltage electricity, and then transferred to families and companies. The process must be completed by transformer facilities. There are 500,000-volt transformer stations, 220,000-volt, 110,000-volt, 100,000-volt and smaller ones in Shanghai. These transformer stations have different customers. Shanghai’s power plants are basically located along rivers or the sea. In the north, for example, there are power plants in Shidongkou and Waigaoqiao. Also in Wujing and along the Huangpu River are some power plants. The electricity they generate should be transferred to everywhere in Shanghai. For example, the power from a plant in Wusongkou will be transferred to Songjiang District.

Our next step is to make a good layout for the city’s power grid. It is not allowed to have buildings alongside high-voltage cables, especially residential buildings. But there will be some special conditions. For example, we plan a 15- or 25-meter leeway on each side of a high-voltage line. A developer will think it is okay to build houses only 0.5 meter from the safety margin. But residents will have concerns. Therefore, the construction of electricity facilities will follow its planning, and authorities also must build facilities according to the planning. The space for power facilities must be reserved, and any occupation for other purpose is banned.

8. China Youth Daily: We will impose power use limitation on the enterprises characterized by high energy consumption, high pollution and low added value. I am wondering if the 150 enterprises are the only ones of this category in Shanghai. Why don’t we shut them down? Is there a time frame for the shutdown? Also, I notice that we advocate and encourage enterprises to adopt the off day alternation plan. Is it a mandatory plan? Thank you.

Zhou Minhao: Generally speaking, the off day alternation plan is not mandatory. We aim it to average the load from Monday to Sunday. But in some areas, some enterprises will have to introduce the alternation, as transformer facilities are not sufficient in these areas, or the facilities have not been put in place this year. In these areas, it will become mandatory to carry out the alternation. But it is few.
The other question is about the enterprises of high energy consumption, high pollution and low added value. These high and low are comparative concepts. It is difficult to close these enterprises simply with administrative orders. We will resort to a comprehensive way combining market-oriented, legal and administrative approaches to prompt a shutdown.
Therefore, the first step is economic. For those enterprises which are required to have some change this year, we will take some legal measures. Because different enterprises have different problems, it is hard to solve the issue in an action. The best way is to compress the space for existence to force the enterprises to quit themselves. I am not sure if my reply can satisfy you.

9. Eastday.com: I am a reporter from Eastday.com. Our Eastday.com Website has recently been doing a collection of public opinions. Its theme is about energy saving and discharge reduction. Many people took part in the program. One of their focuses is the top 10 energy-saving projects Shanghai is working on. They are eager to know how these projects are going now.

Zhou Minhao: We have organized the 19 districts/county and 28 organizations to draft working scenarios and yearly plans. In the meantime, we have completed the data management system and finished online management and reporting data information for the key energy-saving projects. We have also teamed up with the municipal finance bureau to draft subsidy rules for a test run.
We have begun reviewing 203 projects of technology reform. In the second half of this year, we will lay an emphasis on the implementation of the project to rebuild coal-burning furnaces and increase electric machines’efficiency.
The project will mainly target the more than 400 coal-burning furnaces with a capacity above four tons. It is expected to help save 200,000 tons of coal. Meanwhile, we will enforce a disposal of the electric machines that the country has required to be phased out because of obsolete technologies. Commercial buildings will use new technology that can reduce energy consumption.
We also advocate using environmentally-friendly illuminating equipment and encourage innovation in energy-saving and energy-saving equipment manufacturing industries. We will organize development in significant energy-saving industries, including new energies such as wind energy and solar energy.

10. Ta Kung Pao: I am a reporter from Ta Kung Pao. You mentioned just now a rule that outdoor work should stop when the temperature reaches above 35 degrees Celsius. The material also tells us that 20 to 26 days were forecast to see the mercury rise above 35 degrees in the city this year. It is nearly a month, and I think it is a quite long period. Will it affect ongoing construction at the World Expo site? Or do World Expo projects have some special rules.

Zhou Minhao: Our reference is national regulations and the labor and social security ministry’s regulations, because it is not simply a matter of power use. It is actually an issue concerning labor security, personal safety and production safety. If the outdoor temperature is really high, I think those that should stop should stop.

11. China Labour and Social Security News: I have two questions. First, enterprises are required to stop outdoor work when the city’s temperature is above 35 degrees Celsius. If a company does not halt outdoor work as required, are there any measures to protect the interests of laborers? Second, enterprises can stop work or let employees off if their working environment cannot meet the requirements in hot weather. Will we do some inspections, and then enforce a halt at those enterprises which fail to meet the requirements? Thank you.

Zhou Minhao: You are from the labor and social security media. As for the first question, I believe you will get more authoritative explanation than I can give, if you consult the labor and social security authorities about the question. What I can talk about is only electricity. We are not the administrative law enforcement body, so it is hard to tell you how to punish.
The second question is about the measures in extremely hot conditions. Under such conditions, a factory should have rest rooms for workers and also the mechanism of alternate shifts. In spite of extremely high temperatures, the furnace of a steel mill will not stop. Taking Baosteel as an example, a 10,000-ton furnace will not stop until the end of a 10-year maintenance period. How do you deal with this? Steel mills usually have their own measures. Shifts usually alternate every 15 minutes. Because I worked in a steel mill, I can give you this example as explanation. In addition, such enterprises should prepare sunstroke prevention measures.

Chen Qiwei: Because of time, today’s regular news conference of the municipal government is over. Thanks to Spokesman Zhou Minhao for the municipal economic commission and all the reporters.