The retail industry is one of the country's largest employers and also one of its largest energy consumers.

Some people have criticized department stores and supermarkets for wasting energy by leaving electrical home appliances switched on while on display.

For example, a supermarket in Beijing has a video wall made up of 80 TV sets, which it uses to attract consumers.

Experts have estimated it consumes about 160 kWh per day, equal to the amount of energy used by an average three-person family over two months.

But the supermarket is not alone. Throughout the country, countless shops and stores have TV sets, air conditioners, electric fans and computers switched on and using energy.

In recent years, some cities have used "energy police" to inspect shops' energy-saving practices. In the future, they will be seen more often, checking that offices, hotels, schools, shopping malls, supermarkets and other big buildings do not exceed national standards on energy consumption.

If energy consumption is found to be too high, the "police" will issue a warning note. The owners of the buildings could then be fined if they neglect the warning.

The central government has launched a series of campaigns to raise awareness of the need to save energy, such as encouraging the use of public transport and reducing the use of air conditioners at home, in a bid to meet its goal of cutting energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent by 2010.

"I have worked in Europe for years, but I have never seen large shopping malls switch on so many TV sets or air conditioners. They would be fined heavily for wasting energy.

"Staff simply demonstrate the basic functions of the appliance to the potential customers first and only switch it on if a sale is very likely."

Liu Bing, a government official

"I don't think the TV set wall helps sell products. I planned to buy a TV set for my daughter the other day, but the wall was so noisy and shiny it made me feel dizzy and uncomfortable. I couldn't distinguish one set from another, so I just left."

Granny Shang, a Beijing resident

"Good energy management can help reduce operating costs, particularly for large department stores and supermarkets.

Staff should be encouraged to provide suggestions on methods to reduce energy consumption. In many cases the answer is a simple change in procedure, such as switching off lighting and electric appliances when they are not in use."

Wang Pengying, a teacher at Shanghai University of Engineering Science

(China Daily 07/18/2007 page5)