Residents fail to pay heating fees

By Wang Wen and Xu Fan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-05 10:21

Customers look at electrical heating appliances in a supermarket near Chaoyangmen bridge on Tuesday.[China Daily/Bai Jikai]

Almost 30 percent of residents failed to pay their heating fees last year, government officials said yesterday.

"According to investigations, only 70 percent of consumers paid their heating fees last year," Li Nan, a committee member of the Beijing municipal commission of city administration and environment, said yesterday.

The administration said there were 251 heating supply disputes in Beijing, most of which concerned outstanding heating payments.

"I don't want to pay the heating fee because sometimes my apartment doesn't need it," said Zheng Ye, manager of a media company.

Zheng owns a 130 sq m apartment in Chaoyang district. He lives with his parents almost 10 km from his own apartment, which has been left empty for three years.

However the heating company, which supplies warmth to the whole building, continues to charge him.

Supply companies can cancel heating to those residents who do not pay, but the government prohibits it.

"Currently we don't have the technology to locate the heating used in a single apartment," Li said.

"Failure to pay the heating fee is a very serious problem," Vice-Mayor of Beijing Huang Wei said yesterday.

The government and heating suppliers have tried for years to find a way to resolve the problem of fee dodgers.

The plan is to bring a heating supply contract into practice from next year. Consumers will be required to sign a contract with their heat supplier in person.

Guo Weiqi, director of Beijing heating office, said, "Heating suppliers will have the rights to take residents to court if they don't pay."

The Legal Evening News reported on Oct 21 several lawsuits dealing with unpaid heating were being heard at courts around the city.

The heating supply for winter started on Sunday.

"Beijing has already accumulated 3.36 million tons of coal for heating, 60 percent of its yearly target," Guo said.

On Sunday, a cold front hit the city, prompting a public request for heat ahead of the scheduled time.

In response, the government told heating providers to begin services 15 days early.

However, due to lack of preparation, not everyone actually started received heating on Monday.