Energy on the Agenda

The long-awaited Energy Law takes another step forward

By LI YUZHU

LOW-CARBON LIGHTS: Road lights are powered by solar and wind energies on Yanhu Thoroughfare in Yunchen City, east China's Shanxi Province, February 3, 2010. These recently installed energy-saving lights have special features that optimize energy structure, improve air quality and cut emissions (XINHUA)

The newly amended Energy Law has been submitted to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, for further amendment and approval, after which it will be delivered to the State Council for further discussion. The news was disclosed by Wu Yin, deputy head of the National Energy Administration (NEA) Under the National Development and Reform Commission, at a recent forum concerning energy, economy and development.

Priority will be given to energy legislation this year, said Yin. The overarching Energy Law will be supported by other laws concerning coal, oil and natural gas, power, renewable energy and energy conservation.

The Legislative Affairs Office plans to deliver the draft energy law to the standing meeting of the State Council this year. If passed by the cabinet, the Energy Law will then be delivered to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament, for discussion and final approval, according to Caijing magazine.

The NPC requires three rounds of discussion for each law, each lasting about three months. That means if everything goes smoothly, the Energy Law will take effect in 2011.

Energy legislation has drawn wide attention. The energy law draft group was established in January 2006. Starting May 1, 2006, regulators solicited opinions and suggestions on the energy law from the public. The law draft group published the first draft for public comment from December 2007 to February 2008.