Heating laws made flexible
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The heating supply will be brought forward again in coming years if winter arrives early, the Beijing municipal government said.
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Dogs are treated at a Haidian pet clinic yesterday. Many owners say their pets are sick because of the cold weather. [China Daily/Legal Mirror] |
![Dogs are treated at a Haidian pet clinic yesterday. Many owners say their pets are sick because of the cold weather. [China Daily/Legal Mirror]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20091113/0019b93bd68d0c67041f02.jpg "Dogs are treated at a Haidian pet clinic yesterday. Many owners say their pets are sick because of the cold weather. [China Daily/Legal Mirror]")
The draft Beijing Heating Management Regulation will legislate a prolonged heating period if the temperature is judged cold enough.
The capital's heating season is fixed at Nov 15 - March 15, however it was brought forward by two weeks this year.
In addition, the standard heating temperature would be increased from 16 to 18 C, a change the government has discussed before.
"It is a measure to prolong the heating period when temperature decreases," Li Nan, committee member of the Beijing municipal commission of city administration and environment, told METRO yesterday.
"We have thought about the emergency measure for years and the weather this winter just gave us an opportunity to put this into practice."
The draft has been posted on the government's website for public comment in July and will take effect on April 1 next year.
It does not yet specify what temperature would be considered cold enough to bring forward the heating season.
Under the draft, suppliers will be fined if they suspend, delay or end heating early. The fine will vary from 5,000 - 50,000 yuan.
The draft encouraged the use of clean energy.
The government said it has been moving away from coal-burning boilers in recent years and electric heaters were installed in some Beijing bungalows last year.
The pre-heating period began on Nov 7, but some communities say their apartments are still not heated.
"We just got heating on Tuesday," said a resident surnamed Jia from Beijingbei community, Changping district.
She said the temperature in her apartment was still very cold.
Guo Weiqi, director of Beijing heating office, said they would investigate claims that communities were not yet heated.
"It may be because the community is new and did not register in our office," Guo said.
"Some communities were even developed without permission, so we have no way of knowing about them."
Guo said the office is working on resolving the disputes and would try to ensure all residents had heating by Nov 15.
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