Analysis: Chongqing Gas’s strange and sudden surge in new trends is worrying | Chongqing Gas | Gas Meter | Land Finance

[The Epoch Times, April 22, 2024](Epoch Times reporters Song Tang and Yi Ru interviewed and reported) In the past few days, after Chongqing Gas replaced smart new gas meters, the charges have soared, which has detonated the Internet. The authorities’ investigation results have not been given. A reasonable explanation only causes more doubts among people. People are worried that after the collapse of local government land finance, more public services may increase in price.

Experts say that China’s current economic downturn has made people anxious and unwilling to consume. The authorities should have lowered the cost of living and encouraged production and consumption; however, the authorities are currently doing the opposite, not only reducing social security and increasing medical insurance expenditures, but also increasing the prices of coal, gas, water and electricity for people’s livelihood.

Chongqing’s skyrocketing gas prices reveal many strange signs

According to comprehensive mainland media reports, as early as the second half of 2023, Chongqing citizens have reported on the political inquiry platform that gas bills have soared after replacing smart new gas meters. Complaints have gradually increased since February this year. As of April 12, A total of 7,362 inquiries and complaints were received, and it became a hot search on the Douyin platform in April.

Citizens who live in Jiangshanyue Community on Kangmei Street complained that only two people lived in their home for a long time. The gas cost will rise to 270 yuan in March 2024, while the average monthly gas cost last year was about 50 yuan. Will the gas cost increase to 5 times?

Ms. Shen from Jiayi Wutongju Community, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing showed her gas payment record: the fees in May and July 2023 were 150.89 yuan and 131.76 yuan respectively, but in January and March 2024, the fees It rose sharply to 259.13 yuan and 272.3 yuan. She expressed confusion that the number of people in her family had not changed and she did not understand why she paid so much more for gas this year than last year.

Another owner, Ms. Wang, also said that when the weather was hot in August last year, she and her family took baths every day and only paid 118 yuan for gas. However, in April this year, she had to pay 278 yuan.

Residents generally suspect there is a problem with the gas meter. A 65-second video shot by a resident of a community on Jinkai Avenue, Yuanyang Street, Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, shows that in a natural gas meter marked Chengdu Lunli Meter Co., Ltd., the last three red numbers are “169”, and then the word “9” Jump up slowly and finally complete the closure.

She said the shooting time was around 10:50 a.m. on April 11. “No one was living in our house, and nothing was running. The watch was still idling, but it was spinning very, very slowly. It was so weird.”

Chongqing Gas Group’s reply was: first, the old meter was aging, which led to the illusion of “a sharp increase in gas consumption” after switching to a new meter; second, the data from the old meter was transmitted two months late; third, the Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission The gas price has increased; fourth, there are slight leaks in the gas pipes and joints of some users’ homes.

However, these explanations have aroused more doubts from the public: 1. The old gas meters are all within their service life, and the probability of large-area and comprehensive metering being about twice that of the new meters is extremely low; 2. The data from the old meters was uploaded late2 The intensive meter reading in April means that the gas bills in the previous months were zero or significantly reduced, but in fact the gas bills of most complaining residents in the previous months were not zero; 3. The Chongqing Development and Reform Commission only adjusted prices The price of non-residential gas has been increased, but the price of residential gas has not been adjusted; 4. The city has replaced pipes and joints of gas meters, and large-scale gas leaks have occurred at the same time, and the proportion of gas leaks is about double the original gas consumption. , the possibility of satisfying these three conditions at the same time is zero.

Chongqing Gas’s 2023 performance report shows that operating profit increased by more than eleven times in the fourth quarter of 2023. Compared with the same period in 2022, profits increased by 1127% year-on-year, and net profits attributable to shareholders of listed companies increased by 824% year-on-year.

Ms. Yin from Chongqing told The Epoch Times that there has always been a legend that water and electricity meters have been adjusted to speed up the adjustment, but water and electricity meters are not as exaggerated as gas meters. Everyone found that the gas charges were high, not a little higher but very high. When everyone reported that there was a problem with the gas meter charges, they said they were based on the meter. If they felt there was a problem, they could remove it and take it to a third party. Testing, I’m very confident. Now everyone knows that there is a mechanism inside the watch. The news leaked from their internal sources said that the numbers can be controlled remotely. Otherwise, where would the extra money come from?

Ms. Yin said, “I am very lucky. I have been notified of changing my watch for several months. There are notices posted at the door of the elevator saying that my watch is to be changed and that people should be kept at home. However, I was not at home, so my watch was not changed. , I escaped.”

What’s the problem?

When people suspected that gas meters were causing the skyrocketing costs, on April 12, Chongqing Gas issued a clarification announcement stating that no metering inaccuracies were found in the gas meters that had been reviewed. On the 13th, Chongqing established a joint investigation team led by the Market Supervision Administration and participated by multiple units.

At a press conference on Chongqing’s gas investigation held on the evening of April 19, the joint investigation team released its findings, which attributed the problem to the gas company’s overcharge of gas fees and admitted that there were miscalculations and illegal valuations. Later, Che Dechen, Party Secretary and General Manager of Chongqing Gas Group, was dismissed from his post. However, it said that problems such as gas meter metering and quality, gas quality, and changing gas meter metering through remote control have not yet been discovered.

The authorities’ investigation results basically supported Chongqing Gas’s statement. Chongqing Gas initially firmly denied that there was a problem with the gas meter. Under pressure from public opinion, it only admitted that the charges were wrong and that the money could be refunded. Netizens expressed that this time, a meter reader with no background was once again blamed.

“After the working group settled in Chongqing Gas Group, they dealt with relevant people who were not very important. They pretended to calm public anger and then refunded the money. I don’t know how to refund the money. I asked those who were overcharged and they all said they didn’t know. , I just wanted to refund the money,” said Ms. Yin from Chongqing.

American economist DAVY J. Wong told The Epoch Times that the current explanation from the authorities is vague and does not touch on the core point. It is probably a matter of remote control and an attempt to increase income. If it increases by 5% or 10% every month, people may not notice it, but if it increases too much all at once, it is obviously a problem.

Li Hengqing, an economist living in the United States, told The Epoch Times that the statement is correct and the anger is correct, so why do we need a refund? Nowadays, most public affairs have been nationalized. Some water and electricity in the United States are state-owned, some are privately owned, and some are listed companies. However, there is a basic principle that no fraud is allowed, otherwise the government will have no credibility.

After a large number of protests, the gas meter in Chongqing has indeed slowed down, but some netizens posted on Weibo: Good news, starting from yesterday, it is obvious that the gas meter in the home is turning slower than before, and the flames are also burning. It’s blue; but the bad news is that it feels terrible. This watch can go as fast as it wants and as slow as it wants.

Some netizens said that Chongqing Gas is too weird! The Chongqing gas meter slows down on its own, and no one comes to the door at all. Then the only way is remote control. Just like network broadband, the backend will allocate as much traffic to you as you want. High technology is used here, I have to admire it. It’s normal now. After this incident is over and everyone has calmed down, will they slowly adjust it faster so that no one is aware of it?

David Huang said, “I said I copied it wrong before, but suddenly the gas speed and charge dropped. This situation is quite abnormal. At that time, some people suspected that there was a nozzle-like thing installed on the gas meter to make the meter run faster. , and later found that the meter started running slowly without changing it, and returned to normal, which proves that there should be a remote control problem, because currently electricity meters, water meters, and gas meters are generally controlled by the Internet of Things. “

The Epoch Times reporter searched for “Internet of Things gas meter” and found that this smart meter has the ability to “regularly report gas consumption data (automatic meter reading)” and “can remotely control valves, and can remotely close valves in emergencies or malicious arrears.” ” and other functions.

The media also dug up the shareholders behind Chongqing Gas. The original controlling shareholder, Chongqing Energy, was reorganized due to debt problems in 2022, and Chongqing Gas was therefore affiliated with the central enterprise China Resources. China Resources Gas is one of the five major urban gas groups in China.

Some netizens said that the gas business has been monopolized, who will supervise it? Ordinary people are like fish on the chopping board, with no way to protect their rights? How to achieve openness and transparency is the top priority now. Some netizens said that when exploitation comes from capital, people still have the freedom to give up, game, and resist. When exploitation comes from power, people don’t even have the possibility to say “no”. They must clearly distinguish the exploitation they experience. Where did it come from.

Lawyer Wu from Mainland China told The Epoch Times that the Chongqing Gas incident first reflects that in China, the party controls everything and does not need to listen to the opinions of the people. No matter how good modern technology is, it is used to maintain stability and do bad things; secondly, the local government has no money. , there is a lot of debt, so we are trying every means to get money, and the price of public services will definitely increase significantly.

He said that the law clearly stipulates that anyone who privately modifies electricity, water, or gas meters in an attempt to evade payment or reduce payment to a certain amount will be judged as a thief. It turns out that this regulation is to prevent people from stealing electricity. Now some cities’ electricity, tap water and gas companies tamper with billing devices without authorization or secretly increase charging standards. This is actually a crime of theft. If the theft exceeds a certain amount, it can be punished and should be punished. The court sued to pursue civil liability.

David Huang said that the legal system and administrative system in mainland China are inherently unfair, and there is no equal position between public power and private power. Ordinary people may be sentenced to prison if they steal coal, gas, or electricity. Why is it not a crime to sell gas, electricity, and water by overcharging in violation of regulations?

New trends are worrying

Many netizens reported that Chongqing Gas Company may be just the tip of the iceberg, and other provinces have very similar coincidences. As long as the gas meter, electricity meter, and water meter are replaced, the cost will definitely increase.

Following Chongqing, netizens in Chengdu, Nanjing, Changzhou, Hefei, Nanchang and other places have reported a surge in gas bills at home. According to The Paper, an old man stayed at home in Chengdu for four months and settled a gas bill of 15,000 yuan. Nanjing netizen “Youyouyouyouyouyouahyou” posted in the early morning of April 22, “Before the watch was changed last year, it was more than 100 (yuan), and after the change, it became more than 300 (yuan).”

(Network screenshot)

Regarding this phenomenon, many observers believe that this is another important means for local governments to harvest leeks after losing revenue from land sales. In the future, public services such as electricity, water, gas, transportation, and communications will increase across the country. The sudden increase in gas bills in Chongqing is only due to land sales. After the fiscal collapse, a small wave of public utility price hikes made headlines because it was too much in one bite.

This is also consistent with the Chinese Communist Party’s policy of “actively promoting price increases.” Yin Xiangwu, the founder of Real Estate Internal Reference, published an analysis in January this year, saying that there is now an idea to stimulate the economy. When housing prices have retreated significantly, the only way to move the base price is to move it. So now the price of tap water in Shanghai has increased by 20% to 52%. It can be expected that the next step will be an increase in electricity prices, communication and network fees, train and subway fares. There is an advantage to state-controlled public utilities. It can also increase fiscal revenue through market-oriented methods. There is no need to use naked taxes. This is also conducive to inflation expectations and drives up other consumer prices.

David Huang said that in the past, the government might provide some subsidies, but now gas, coal, and hydropower have become profitable, which in turn has to subsidize local government expenditures. In the final analysis, it is because the entire local government is under great financial pressure and cannot make ends meet, so we have to take action where we can, either by selling land or various non-tax revenues. Non-tax revenues such as water, electricity, buses, parking fees and various fines will increase in the future.

“The current economy is not good, unemployment is high, and people are very anxious. We should have lowered people’s living costs and encouraged them to produce and consume. This is the correct rescue plan. This is not the current approach. It first reduces social security. People’s medical insurance expenditures have increased, and the prices of coal, gas, water and electricity for people’s livelihood have also increased. This is a reverse operation.”

Drink poison to quench thirst, dry up the lake and fish

Li Hengqing said that under normal circumstances, inflation in a normal economy is about 2%, but if it turns into negative growth, it is deflation, and deflation is more difficult to control than inflation. China is now facing such a situation, so it is trying every means to push up the inflation rate, but this is a dangerous move.

He said that most of the officials with great power in China are incompetent and use administrative orders to force prices to rise. This is tantamount to returning to a planned economy. If it really gets out of control, more than 600 million people in China will be at the bottom of life. The monthly income is only a few hundred to a thousand yuan. Finally, the prices of vegetables, milk, eggs, and meat have increased. How can they survive?

David Huang analyzed that for local debts, the central government can issue bonds or directly allocate financial funds to rescue them, but this will cause local governments to spend more uncontrollably. Therefore, the current policy of the central government is probably to let local governments play a game of livelihood charges with the people. That is, local governments must find ways to solve the problem, at least 20% of it. This 20% depends on their non-tax revenue, but non-tax revenue It is not that easy to raise the price, because there will definitely be a lot of resistance from local people. If we charge 5% or 10% more, it is possible that this matter will be suppressed and there will be no report at all. This time it is too much.

David Huang said that the price increase of water, electricity, gas and these basic livelihood needs will have an immediate impact on low- and middle-income families. For the transportation, logistics, and production industries, rising electricity prices in the future will also put a lot of pressure on them. This is certainly not a very good phenomenon. It feels a bit like drinking poison to quench thirst and fishing in a dry lake.

Editor in charge: Lin Yan#