Staffers from various branches of State Grid Corporation of China have reportedly denied online rumors claiming the country’s largest power grid firm will hike electricity prices for residents in various cities, including Shanghai.

State Grid's national service center has not received any related notice about price changes, a staffer told Jiemian yesterday. When prices are adjusted, power suppliers usually disclose announcements through State Grid’s official channels, so the public should refer to those, the person added.

There will be no adjustments in resident-use power prices in Hubei province, according to a customer service staffer at the Hubei branch of State Grid. A worker from the company’s Jiangsu branch said the information spreading online is just rumors.

Shanghai will not see any changes in terms of pricing policies for residents-use power, the employee at the State Grid national service center noted.

There are two ways of calculating resident-use power consumption in China, which are based on peak and off-peak hours and time slots. In the first way, power prices change depending on whether electricity is used during peak or off-peak hours. In the second way, power prices change depending on which time slot electricity is used.

For example, Shanghai uses the peak and off-peak power pricing system, which is integrated into three tiers of annual power consumption. Peak hours are between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., and off-peak hours are between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The three consumption tiers are between zero and 3,120 kilowatt-hours, between 3,120 and 4,800 kWh, and above 4,800 kWh of electricity per year.

Shanghai residents in the first consumption tier spend 61.7 Chinese cents (14 US cents) per kWh during peak hours and 30.7 Chinese cents per kWh during off-peak hours. Those in the second and third consumption tiers spend 67.7 Chinese cents and 97.7 Chinese cents per kWh, respectively, during peak hours and 33.7 Chinese cents and 48.7 Chinese cents per kWh, respectively, during off-peak hours.

According to the online rumors, Shanghai will allegedly hike prices from June 1, changing from power use based on peak and off-peak hours to five time slots. Using electricity in the city between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. would cost CNY1.08 (15 US cents) per kWh, between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. and between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. would cost 68 Chinese cents per kWh, and between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. would cost 31 Chinese cents per kWh.

For residents in some areas of China, power prices change in summer, but these are regular seasonal adjustments. For example, Guangdong charges resident-use power based on summer standards between May and October and non-summer standards between November and April.