Electric meters not the cause for soaring bills

LOCAL quality inspection authorities said today that new electric meters installed in Shanghai homes would not cause higher electricity bills. The Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Supervision tested 750 "dubious" electric meters. About 97 percent of them were qualified and the remaining had some defects but nothing to do with fee charging. Some Shanghai residents complained earlier that after a replacement of electric meters, their electricity bills ballooned last month. Power companies blamed the unusually cold weather in January as the cause for a surge in electricity consumption and costs.

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