Chinese residents’ gas consumption increased significantly as government and businesses compete for money.

Recently, there has been a growing trend on social media where residents in Sichuan Province, Chongqing, and other areas have seen a significant increase in their gas bills after their gas meters were replaced. The hidden truth behind this event has been exposed on the internet, sparking public outrage.

In late last year, Chongqing Gas Group replaced a large number of households’ traditional gas meters with smart meters, leading to a sudden increase in gas bills for residents. As this issue directly affects people’s basic living expenses, it has become a hot topic on social media platforms in the past two weeks.

As early as the beginning of this year, Chongqing residents have been reporting on governance platforms that their gas bills have skyrocketed after the installation of smart new gas meters.

Starting from February this year, the number of complaints gradually increased, involving various districts and counties in Chongqing such as Jiulongpo District, Yubei District, Nan’an District, Beibei District, Jiangjin District, Yongchuan, and more. In April, the feedback surged and became a hot topic on the internet.

Subsequently, residents in various regions of Sichuan Province also expressed that their gas bills had seen a dramatic increase. As of April 22nd, people were still reporting abnormal gas bills on the Sichuan governance platform.

On April 22nd, Mr. Chen mentioned that since the beginning of this year, without any changes in household members or gas usage habits, his gas bill mysteriously doubled compared to last year. He demanded a reasonable explanation for the increase and rejected ineffective explanations.

On the Sichuan governance platform, residents from Chengdu, Nanchong, Neijiang, Zigong, Mianyang, Ziyang, Deyang, Guang’an, and other areas have complained about the drastic increase in gas bills.

The issue of soaring gas bills continues to attract attention not only in Chongqing and Sichuan but also in various regions where people are conducting self-checks and discovering abnormal gas bill problems.

A resident of Yangzhou City in Jiangsu Province, using the alias Gao Yu, shared on April 21st that he noticed a sudden increase in his gas bill from 156 yuan to over 300 yuan in January. He believed it was an individual issue until he realized many others were facing the same problem, indicating a nationwide issue.

A resident of Xiaogan City in Hubei Province, using the alias Li Yu, mentioned that even turning on a water tap causes their gas meter to run. Previously, a 500-yuan recharge could last a year, now a 1000-yuan recharge only lasts six months.

Another resident from Nanjing City in Jiangsu Province, using the alias Chang Hua, stated that their gas bill tripled from around 40-50 yuan per month to over 940 yuan in four months after replacing the meter. Similar issues were reported by neighbors upstairs and downstairs.

Netizens in Hebei Province reported online that gas prices in multiple cities were higher than in Beijing.

Due to the continued escalation of the gas bill issue, authorities had to respond.

On April 13th, the Chongqing Municipal Government announced that a joint investigation team had entered Chongqing Gas Group, Kaiyuan Gas, and other related gas companies for investigations. On April 19th, Chongqing Gas Group removed its chairman, Che Dechen. Authorities admitted that there were issues of incorrect meter readings, unauthorized estimations, billing cycle confusion, etc. Chengdu officials stated that excess gas fees would be fully refunded by the related gas companies.

However, the public remains dissatisfied with the authorities’ response.

Some netizens suggested that criminal liability should be pursued instead of mere refunds, pointing out the organized collection of excess gas fees as a form of collective crime.

According to mainland media reports, Chongqing Gas Group’s financial data showed a 17.26% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to 10.246 billion yuan in 2023, with an operating profit of 565 million yuan, a 28.86% increase. The company achieved a gas sales volume of 3.496 billion cubic meters during the reporting period, a 0.69% increase.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Chongqing Gas realized operating revenue of 3.08 billion yuan and an operating profit of 261 million yuan. In comparison, the company’s operating revenue was 2.492 billion yuan, with an operating profit of 21.27 million yuan in the fourth quarter of 2022. This results in a 23.59% year-on-year increase in Q4 2023 operating revenue and a 1127% increase in operating profit. In essence, the operating profit surged over 11 times in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Furthermore, the gas meter company JinKa Smart’s 2023 semi-annual report indicated that smart civilian gas terminals and systems, with the highest revenue at 887 million yuan, had an 18.32% year-on-year increase. The East China region contributed the most to sales, with sales revenue reaching 507 million yuan. The net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies in 2023 was 378 million to 446 million yuan, a 40% to 65% increase year-on-year.

In addition, other smart new gas meter companies such as XinTian Technology and Qianjia Technology also saw revenue growth in their 2023 annual reports.

Public information shows that Sichuan Lianfa Natural Gas Co., Ltd. is a shareholder of Sichuan Chuangang Gas Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Gas Group Co., Ltd. Chengdu Gas is the largest urban gas operation enterprise in the Chengdu area according to public data.

The shareholders of Chongqing Gas Group Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Gas Group Co., Ltd. including China Resources Gas Investment (China) Co., Ltd. (China Resources Gas).

China Resources Gas, one of the largest urban gas operators in China, established in January 2007, is a subsidiary of China’s largest central enterprise, China Resources Group. The company has established gas companies in over 100 medium and large cities such as Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Kunming, Jinan, Fuzhou, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Nanchang, Tianjin, Suzhou, Wuxi, Xiamen, conducting business in 18 provinces and two municipalities, with gas annual sales exceeding 10 billion cubic meters, serving over 10 million households.

Regarding this, independent columnist Zhuge Mingyang told Epoch Times that the energy system has long been controlled by the Jiang Zemin family, and Xi Jinping has been cleansing the energy system since taking office. Whether this event will lead to further cleansing of the energy system by Xi is still unknown, but whether state-owned enterprises or central enterprises, they are essentially “party assets” whose function is to exploit and bleed people layer by layer.

On April 20th, an article exposing gas bill issues in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, calling for a thorough investigation, gained attention online. The poster, a woman from Kunshan City, Suzhou, was threatened by employees of China Resources Gas Suzhou on April 22nd to delete the post.

Five company employees and community officials went to her house to explain the reasons behind the gas bill increase and replaced her gas meter. However, after they left, the police visited her again, subsequently contacting her husband’s company, pressuring them to delete the post.

The woman had to post an apology letter online, pleading with China Resources Gas to leave her family alone.

Epoch Times reporters were unable to reach the individuals involved for further verification.

Economist and US certified public accountant Li Hengqing, in an interview with Epoch Times, described this as a conflict between the government and the people. He likened people watching helplessly as their money was taken away to being robbed on the street.

“Gas companies, like water companies, are public utilities. Citizens pay them taxes, and they need to make a service commitment to the people and ensure fair charges. But now, in ignorance, people’s hard-earned money is constantly being transferred to the government’s coffers; that is the sweat and blood money of the people,” he stated.

Li Hengqing emphasized that the CCP’s greatest fear is the revelation of the truth behind such events. If people dare not resist, they are left at the mercy of their exploiters.