Double Pressure on Power Grids——The demand for electricity is dropping while the electricity price is not adjusted properly

Since October 2008,China's social consumption of electricity had,for the first time,grown negatively compared to the same period of the previous year,and in November the negative growth range further expanded. The major pressure faced by the electricity industry has now turned from the contradiction between coal and electricity to electricity quantity. This is undoubtedly a true and new test to electricity enterprises which get used to high growth but are now suffering great losses. The reform of electricity system has already been in great difficulties and now is getting into a more serious situation. In order to help readers improve their knowledge and understanding of the current tough situation faced by the electricity industry and discuss how to alleviate and get through the difficulty resulted from the economic crisis "encountered once every one hundred years" by joint efforts of all parties concerned,a Seminar on Crisis and Countermeasures for Electricity Industry was held on November 20,2008. Here are some extracts from the speeches of four experts.