“the electricity sector in various parts of shandong is using practical action to resist the policy of supporting the provincial and municipal enterprises to withhold payments.” on 2 march, the head of a listed company in qingdao, shandong, stated to the journalist that 13 days earlier, the company in shandong province had been providing electricity “at no cost” but that the electricity sector was pressing charges. The shandong province's “failure-for-stop” policy does not provide for the withholding of late payments from enterprises, which are subject to very high annual interest rates. In order not to pay such a high amount of late-payment, enterprises have to pay their electricity bills on time, and preferential policies “can't see enough”. (3 march, the securities times)
Theoretically, “unrequired supply” is a good policy that reflects government support for enterprises, which can ease their operating and cash flow strains, reduce their power and gas burdens and devote resources and energy to the disease. However, the “over and over” policy in shandong province has not been fully implemented, as it has become a policy of suspense because of the lack of a moratorium on the payment of electricity, which is not visible enough for businesses to see, but still needs to pay their electricity bills on time, and has led to preferential policies being turned into mirror months, and businesses are happy。
Prior to this, the shandong provincial government issued a circular on the introduction of “non-stop payments” for electricity, gas, water, etc., needed for the operation of enterprises, and the payment of deferred payments by enterprises within three months of the end of the epidemic. It is clear that, in accordance with the policy, companies do not have to worry about electricity or gas charges until after the end of the epidemic. This is based on the fact that many enterprises are unable to operate normally during the epidemic, causing income instability, uncertainty and a direct impact on the survival of the enterprise, and as a result, a policy of “defunct payments” has been introduced to offset the risk of the epidemic and to help the enterprise to survive。
However, the policy does not take into account the problem of late payment of electricity, which makes the policy attractive. According to the electricity sector, the portion of the arrears for the year is calculated on the basis of two per cent of the total arrears per day, while the portion of the arrears over the year is calculated on the basis of three per cent of the total. In the case of a portion of the current year's arrears, the annualized interest rate for late gold is 73 per cent, which is comparable to the rate of usury. Moreover, when the cost of electricity is paid in the wake of the epidemic, the company is required to pay the deferred money together, otherwise the power will be out, which will cause disruption and the company will not pay later。
Feedback from the electricity sector also shows that, no matter how close the business or sector is to the epidemic, the largest power sector can achieve “insurance supply”, but default payments must be made, at most late. It is clear that the government's “defunct payments” preference policy is not considered, without prior coordination with the electricity sector and without cutting off the “tails” of the stagnate, resulting in a lack of practicality and ultimately a dead letter. It is imperative that the government fill this gap as soon as possible by requiring the power sector to eliminate the late payment of money in order to ensure that the “defunct payments” preferential policies are put on hold。
The epidemic has taken a heavy toll on the country's economy and, in some cases, on its businesses. Governments have adopted a variety of “negative” policies to support businesses, but some of them are too empty and well known to help businesses to “regulate”, adding to their worries. Governments should therefore consult widely with enterprises before introducing preferential policies, and elaborate them in such a way as to ensure that they are implemented and that they are equipped with quantitative accounting indicators to achieve real “negative” effects, so that enterprises can effectively benefit from them in order to support them in their efforts to protect themselves against the disease。
