No electricity rate hike expected

BEIJING - China's electricity prices will not ramp up in the near term, even though the government is under huge pressure due to rising coal prices, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"Now the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is fairly high, so raising electricity fees will not be proper," said Jiang Zhimin, vice-chairman of the China National Coal Association.

Coal prices will remain at the current level, and are not expected to fluctuate much in the second quarter, he said.