On January 19, Page 07 of People's Daily published an article titled "Readers and Netizens Report High Natural Gas Costs After 'Coal-to-Gas' Conversion in Some Northern Regions — Multi-pronged Measures Needed to Solve the 'Expensive Heating' Problem in Parts of the Countryside." The full text is as follows: Recently, after the "coal-to-gas" conversion in rural areas of some northern regions in China, readers and netizens have reported that high gas prices have led to situations where some villagers "cannot afford heating" and "would rather endure the cold to save money." What is the actual heating situation for villagers in northern rural areas after the "coal-to-gas" conversion, and what governance issues does this reflect? How should the related problems be resolved? With these questions, a reporter conducted visits.
The current situation: Cases of "high natural gas heating prices" and "enduring cold to save money" indeed exist. Recently, a netizen from Dingxiang County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, left a message on the "Leadership Messages" board of People's Daily Online stating that although their village had implemented the "coal-to-gas" conversion, the cost required for gas heating at home was too high, leading some villagers to be unwilling to turn on the gas for heating, preferring instead to endure the cold. On January 6, the reporter arrived at Jiang Village in Dingxiang, Shanxi. "'Coal-to-gas' is a beneficial policy for the country and the people; it's safer, cleaner, and more convenient, but the heating cost is just too high," villager Mr. Hu told the reporter. By the end of 2024, the local natural gas price had increased from a minimum of 2.26 yuan per cubic meter to 2.61 yuan, exceeding 3 yuan for usage beyond a certain amount. Over a whole winter, even being very frugal still costs several thousand yuan. "My elderly parents, to save money, only turn on the natural gas wall-hung boiler for heating when the winter cold becomes unbearable," Mr. Hu said. "The house is particularly cold, and the elderly have to wear thick coats even indoors." The reporter then visited Ms. Hu's home. She said, "For my 105-square-meter house, to maintain a room temperature of 18-19 degrees Celsius, the monthly gas consumption is between 380 and 390 cubic meters, costing about 1000 yuan. I dare not exceed 400 cubic meters, because beyond that the unit price of natural gas rises to over 3 yuan, so I have to control usage carefully." Villager Ms. Jia told the reporter that due to her poor health, she needs to keep the room temperature higher to avoid catching a chill. "Last heating season, the heating fee was over 7000 yuan; this winter, even while using gas sparingly, I've already spent over 3000 yuan," she lamented. "Our farmers have limited incomes; it's genuinely painful!" Besides Shanxi, villagers and netizens in regions promoting "coal-to-gas" like Henan and Shandong have also reported issues with high gas heating prices. "In the past, our village used loose coal for heating, which only cost a little over 1000 yuan for a whole winter, and the heat was strong," Mr. Lü, a resident of Hua County, Anyang City, Henan Province, told the reporter. In previous years, the village organized the installation of natural gas wall-hung boilers and stoves and connected natural gas, after which burning coal was prohibited, "and there are frequent inspections." "There were subsidies for installing the equipment, so I didn't really spend much money myself. But the subsequent costs are much higher than burning coal," Mr. Lü explained. He said the current natural gas price in Hua County is 2.86 yuan per cubic meter for monthly usage of 50 cubic meters or less per household, and 3.72 yuan per cubic meter for usage exceeding 50 cubic meters. "Calculated, if we use gas heating freely for a whole winter, it could cost 10,000 yuan," Mr. Lü said wryly. "That far exceeds the affordability of villagers here." Mr. Wang from a village in Liaocheng, Shandong, also did the math for the reporter: previously, burning loose coal cost about 1500 yuan per winter; after "coal-to-gas," the government provides an annual subsidy, but winter heating still costs over 4000 yuan. Liu Mengdi, a professor at the School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, who has long been engaged in research on environmental governance and public policy, has conducted investigations on this issue. She admitted frankly: "In some rural areas, especially among families with relatively low income levels, the phenomenon of 'enduring cold to save money' does indeed exist."
Reasons: High pipeline network construction and maintenance costs, "phase-out" of fiscal subsidies, poor housing insulation performance. "Expensive," "can't afford to use"... Villagers in Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and other places complained to the reporter. Why is natural gas so expensive in these rural areas? Where does the problem lie? "The rural pipeline network is built from scratch, and villages are dispersed with low population density, resulting in high average pipeline construction costs per household," analyzed Liu Mengdi. Rural gas supply is characterized by "low pressure, dispersion, and numerous points," necessitating greater investment in manpower and resources for essential inspections, maintenance, and emergency repairs. "The geographically dispersed nature of rural areas leads to high 'logistics' and 'service' costs," said Pang Jun, Dean of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Renmin University of China, adding that some county-level gas supply companies are small in scale and have low bargaining power. Given the high cost of using natural gas for heating in rural areas, are there cheaper clean energy alternatives? In 2017, multiple departments issued the "Winter Clean Heating Plan for Northern Regions (2017-2021)," which proposed selecting heating sources based on local conditions, including renewable energy heating like geothermal, biomass, and solar, natural gas heating, electric heating, industrial waste heat heating, and clean coal centralized heating. However, in reality, rural areas in Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and Hebei have primarily promoted "coal-to-gas" as the main method for clean heating. "Using natural gas as the primary energy source for clean heating is generally reasonable," Pang Jun stated. Other options like renewable energy heating (geothermal, biomass, solar) or industrial waste heat heating either provide unstable heat or require building new heating infrastructure. So-called clean coal faces regulatory challenges, as "it's difficult to ensure that loose coal isn't mixed in." Liu Mengdi believes that compared to building centralized heating networks, developing geothermal energy, or organizing biomass fuel supply chains, installing gas wall-hung boilers and laying pipelines for individual rural households is easier to implement quickly and village-wide from an engineering perspective, allowing for the achievement of quantifiable targets like "zero loose coal" in the short term. In the initial stages of "coal-to-gas," various regions provided corresponding subsidies to villagers. In recent years, subsidies have been "phasing out" in many places, increasing the economic pressure on villagers for heating. Mr. Sun, a resident of a certain county in Hebei, told the reporter that in the early days of the village's "coal-to-gas" conversion, the subsidy was 1 yuan per cubic meter of gas, but it has now been reduced to 0.1 yuan. At Ms. Hu's home in Jiang Village, Dingxiang County, she showed the reporter the subsidy disbursement slip: the county provides subsidies at different tiers based on the user's gas consumption. Last year, her family spent over 4000 yuan on heating but only received a 400 yuan subsidy. "More households in the village received a 200 yuan subsidy." "In 2021, the city introduced a 3-year subsidy policy for 'coal-to-gas,' funded by municipal and county finances, with a maximum subsidy of 500 yuan per household for 'coal-to-gas'," explained a responsible person from relevant departments in a certain location in Shanxi. The 2025 deadline is approaching, and whether subsidies will continue depends on the city's specific policy. Why might subsidies stop? "Currently, the county's finances are indeed quite tight," the responsible person admitted frankly. The reporter's interviews found that similar concentrated reports exist in rural areas of Taiyuan, Linfen, etc., along with issues of subsidy arrears and reluctance to use natural gas freely. Furthermore, some rural self-built houses were not designed with sufficient consideration for wall insulation, resulting in inadequate thermal retention. "Clean heating is by no means as simple as 'changing the heat source'; it is a systematic project involving energy supply, distribution networks, end-use equipment, building envelope (insulation), and user behavior," Liu Mengdi argued. She believes that in the current promotion of clean heating, some places focus too much on the front-end "gas (electricity) replacing coal" while neglecting the back-end energy-saving renovation of rural houses. In a village in Zhuozhou City, Hebei, the reporter observed that the vast majority of village houses had ordinary brick structure exterior walls without added insulation layers. "A comprehensive insulation renovation for a 100-square-meter house costs about 10,000 yuan," a village official told the reporter. Without sufficient subsidies, villagers are usually unwilling to spend this money. "A house that 'leaks wind from all sides' causes enormous energy waste," Liu Mengdi stated, noting that a significant portion of gas heating fees is essentially "paying for" the relatively落后的落后的落后的落后的落后的建筑保温性能.
Suggestions: Cross-regional ecological compensation, strengthening energy-saving renovations for rural houses, configuring diversified clean energy sources. Since January 3 this year, villagers in Hebei, Shanxi, and other places have successively reported to the reporter that local policies have been introduced to extend the original subsidy period or increase the existing subsidy amount. Many villagers have already received their gas subsidies. "In many places in Henan, Hebei, and Shanxi, finances are not ample. Relying on local finances to extend subsidy disbursement or increase subsidy amounts is not a long-term solution; we must establish a long-term mechanism," Pang Jun stated. Pang Jun suggested exploring the establishment of an interregional transfer payment mechanism, where commonly benefiting areas provide financial compensation. The purpose of clean heating is to improve air quality, Pang Jun further explained. Air quality is a "public good," and the cost of its improvement should be shared by the whole society. Regions like Henan, Shanxi, and Hebei promoting clean heating methods like "coal-to-gas" and "coal-to-electricity" to improve air quality benefit not only local residents. It is consistent with the ecological compensation principle of "who benefits, who compensates" for other benefiting regions to provide certain financial compensation. Previously, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces adopted an ecological compensation scheme for the cross-provincial basin governance of the Xin'an River, achieving good results. "Regarding the 'expensive heating' problem, the way out lies in establishing a more long-lasting and precise financial subsidy mechanism, separating part of the pipeline network investment and operational costs from the residential gas price," Liu Mengdi suggested. Technological path innovation can reduce initial investment; for example, for scattered villages far from the main pipeline network, abandoning extremely costly long-distance pipelines and adopting methods like LNG (liquefied natural gas) or CNG (compressed natural gas) point supply stations. Furthermore, vigorously promoting energy-saving renovations for rural buildings, including insulation improvements to the exterior walls, roofs, and windows of farmers' homes. Subsidies could shift from solely subsidizing "gas equipment" to bundled subsidies for "energy-saving renovation + clean heat source." "Calculations show that a well-insulated house can reduce heating energy consumption by over 40%, meaning a direct saving of 40% on gas costs," Liu Mengdi stated. During interviews, many local people expressed different views on the "one-size-fits-all" requirement to use only natural gas as the heating energy source. "Some people in our village use air-source heat pumps; the initial installation is expensive, but subsequent costs are cheaper," "Clean briquettes were once promoted here; heating for a whole winter cost only a little over 1000 yuan, and the environmental effect was reportedly not bad," "Could solar heating facilities be promoted?"... In response, experts suggest exploring diversified clean energy configurations. Precise matching based on resource endowment, economic level, and living habits should be pursued, avoiding a "one-size-fits-all" reliance on natural gas. For instance, areas rich in biomass resources like straw and forestry waste are particularly suitable for scattered households not covered by "coal-to-gas/electricity." For areas already covered by gas pipelines, with guaranteed gas supply, where farmers have stronger economic capacity and subsidies are sustainable, natural gas heating can be adopted. "Actually, the benefits of 'coal-to-gas' are also visible to us. Using natural gas, there's no coal dust in the house, the air is much better, and walls are no longer blackened by soot. We also don't need to get up in the middle of the night to add coal in the cold wind, avoiding the risk of poisoning," Ms. Wang, a villager from a village in Zhuozhou City, told the reporter. "We still hope the relevant departments can base policies on local conditions, introduce practical measures, implement good policies well, and provide clean energy that the common people can use, afford, and use effectively."
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