Beijing is planning a nearly eight percent rise in the household natural gas price in efforts to promote energy-saving awareness and meet big transportation costs as almost all the gas is piped in from other areas.

The price of household gas will rise by 0.15 yuan (0.019 U.S. dollar) to 2.05 yuan (0.26 U.S. dollar) per cubic meter, according to the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Households using an average of 18 cubic meters of gas per month will see their monthly bills rise by 2.7 yuan (0.34 U.S. dollar).

The city also plans to establish a gas price adjustment mechanism based on production prices, the commission said.

A public hearing attended by 30 representatives from different walks of life will be held next Friday in the city to finalize the adjustment, according to the commission.

2.88 million Beijing households were hooked up to natural gas at the end of 2005. The city purchased three billion cubic meters of gas last year from northwest China's gas-rich areas such as Shaanxi and Xinjiang.

The city's current gas price for household use is lower than that of other big cities such as Tianjin and Shanghai, whose gas prices stand at 2.20 yuan (0.28 U.S. dollar) and 2.10 yuan (0.26 U.S. dollar) per cubic meter.

为了提高居民节约天然气的意识和满足运输需要，北京将对民用天然气的价格提高8％。目前北京所需的天然气基本上是由国内其他地区输入的。

北京发改委表示，民用天然气每立方米的价格将提高到2.05元，提高了0.15元。居民每个月大概使用18立方米的天然气，现在他们每个月的费用将提高2.7元。同时北京计划将根据物价建立天然气价格调整机制，下个星期三北京将举行听证会最后敲定该机制的建立，届时将有30位来自不同行业的代表出席听证会。去年有30亿立方米的天然气从西北部的陕西和新疆输入北京，年底北京有288万居民遭遇天然气供应短缺。北京现在的天然气价格比天津，上海等这样的大城市低，天津每立方米的天然气价格为2.20元，上海的为2.10元。