A property management company in Rui'an, Zhejiang Province, has been fined more than 130,000 yuan for illegally adding surcharges to electricity bills without obtaining the required price approval from authorities. The Rui'an Market Supervision Administration issued a warning and imposed the fine on March 27, citing violations of China's Electricity Law and related regulations.
The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Weitai Machinery Co., Ltd., is responsible for the daily management, leasing, and property operations of the Rui'an Financial Innovation Industrial Park, which is owned by its parent company. It purchases electricity from the grid and resells it to tenants in the park. Instead of covering shared energy costs—such as those for central air conditioning, elevators, and public lighting—through management fees, rent, or public income, the company passed on these expenses to tenants by adding surcharges to their electricity bills.
According to the investigation, from January 2024 to May 2025, the company used sub-meters to charge tenants an additional 50% for shared electricity consumption or a fixed rate of 1.0–1.1 yuan per kilowatt-hour under the label of "shared usage + line loss." During this period, the company generated 3,360,619.76 yuan (excluding tax) from electricity sales. Its total cost for purchasing electricity from the grid was 3,088,995.46 yuan (excluding tax), of which 314.72 yuan (the verifiable portion, excluding tax) was for its own use. The actual cost of electricity supplied to tenants was therefore 3,088,680.74 yuan. The difference of 271,939.02 yuan, obtained through the unauthorized surcharges, was identified as illegal income.
Starting in June 2025, the company reformed its electricity billing method: it stopped adding shared usage fees and fixed high rates, instead adopting a uniform rate of "grid base price plus a 10% markup" for settlements with tenants, with monthly records of income and expenses. From June to September 2025, the total amount collected from tenants (excluding tax) was insufficient to cover the company's electricity purchase costs, resulting in losses that were borne by the company itself and preventing further illegal gains.
On December 2, 2025, the Rui'an Market Supervision Administration issued a notice ordering the company to refund the full amount of 271,939.02 yuan to the affected tenants within 30 days. The company has since completed the refund and submitted proof of payment along with tenant acknowledgments.
In accordance with Article 66 of China's Electricity Law and Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Administrative Penalty Law, the authorities imposed a lighter penalty on the company, with total fines and confiscations amounting to 135,969.51 yuan.
Business records show that Rui'an Financial Innovation Industrial Park Investment Co., Ltd. (formerly Rui'an Financial Innovation Industrial Park Co., Ltd.) was established in 2013, with legal representative Ye Moulu. Its business scope includes investment activities with self-owned funds, property management, and non-residential real estate leasing.
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