Chapter III Rational and Economical Use of Energy

Section 1 General Stipulations

Article 24 Energy-using units shall, in accordance with the principle of rational use of energy, improve the administration of energy conservation, and formulate and implement plans and technical measures for energy conservation, in order to reduce energy consumption.

Article 25 Energy-using units shall establish a responsibility system for achieving energy conservation goals and reward the collectives and individuals that achieve successes in energy conservation.

Article 26 Energy-using units shall, on a regular basis, carry out education in energy saving and train their employees in energy saving at their posts.

Article 27 Energy-using units shall improve their energy measurement and, in accordance with the relevant regulations, equip themselves with and use up-to-standard energy measuring instruments that are verified as such according to law.

Energy-using units shall establish a system for energy consumption statistics and for analysis of energy utilization, in order to keep classified measurement and statistics of the different types of energy consumed and ensure the authenticity and completeness of such statistical data.

Article 28 Energy production or distribution units shall not provide energy to their own employees gratis. No units may charge a fixed lump sum on the energy consumed per month.

Section 2 Energy Conservation in Industrial Production

Article 29 The State Council and the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall promote the optimum exploitation and use as well as rational distribution of energy resources, push forward the readjustment of the industrial structure to help save energy, and optimize the pattern of energy consumption and enterprise layout.

Article 30 The department in charge of energy conservation under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments under the same, formulate policies on energy conservation technologies for the major energy-consuming industries such as electric power, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, building materials, petroleum processing, chemical industries and coal, in order to push forward technical innovation for energy conservation in the enterprises.

Article 31 The State encourages industrial enterprises to use such equipment as motor drives, boilers, furnaces, blowers and pumps that are highly efficient and energy-saving, employ combined heat and power generation, make use of residual heat and pressure, use clean coal, and adopt advanced technologies in monitoring and controlling the use of energy.

Article 32 Power grid enterprises shall, according to the regulations formulated by the relevant departments under the State Council on the control of energy-saving power generation, merge the heat and power co-generating units, which operate in a clean and efficient way and conforms to relevant regulations, the generating units, which make use of residual heat and pressure, and other generating units, which conform to the regulations governing multipurpose utilization of resources with power grids for synchronized operation, and the rates of network electricity shall be paid in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State.

Article 33 Building of new coal-fired or gasoline-fired generating units or new coal-fired thermal power generating units is prohibited.

Section 3 Energy Conservation in Construction

Article 34 The department in charge of construction under the State Council shall be responsible for administration of and supervision over energy conservation in construction nationwide.

The department in charge of construction under the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for administration of and supervision over energy conservation in construction within their own administrative areas.

The departments in charge of construction under the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with the departments in charge of energy conservation at the same level, draw up programs for energy conservation in construction within their own administrative areas, which shall include plans for renovation of the energy-saving facilities of the existing building.

Article 35 The units for developing, designing, constructing and supervising construction projects shall maintain the standards for energy conservation in construction.

With respect to a construction project that does not conform to the standards for energy conservation, the department in charge of construction shall not give approval for their construction; if construction of such project has started, the said department shall order that the construction be discontinued and rectification be made within a time limit; and if construction of such project has been completed, it shall not be marketed or put to use.

The department in charge of construction shall enhance supervision and inspection with respect to the application of the standards for energy conservation in construction to the construction projects that are under development.

Article 36 When selling houses, real estate developers shall show clearly to the buyers, among other things, the energy conservation measures for the houses to be sold and the period of guarantee for the thermal insulation facilities, have such information clearly indicated in the real estate transaction contracts, the letters of guarantee for quality and the users’ manuals, and be responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of such information.

Article 37 The system of indoor temperature control shall be applied to air-conditioned public buildings. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the department in charge of construction under the State Council.

Article 38 With respect to central heated buildings, the State shall adopt measures to introduce, step by step, the system of measuring heat supply based on individual household and charging fees based on the specific volume consumed by each household. In the construction of new buildings or in the renovation of energy conservation facilities of the existing buildings, devices for heat consumption measurement, indoor temperature control and heat supply control shall be installed. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the department in charge of construction under the State Council in conjunction with the relevant departments under the same.

Article 39 The relevant departments of the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall improve administration in the economical use of electricity in the cities and strictly control energy consumption by public utilities and large buildings for decorative and scenic illumination. Article 40 The State encourages the use of energy-saving equipment and building materials, such as new wall materials, and the installation and use of the systems for utilizing solar energy and other renewable resources of energy in construction of new buildings and in renovation of the energy-saving facilities in existing buildings.