The Chinese government will allow electricity prices to increase in its boldest reforms to the energy sector in decades, hoping to ease a worsening power crunch. But the country’s inflation pressures are rising, threatening its economic growth. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Oct. 12 that the price of coal-fired power could rise as much as 20 percent from the commission’s benchmark price, compared with the previous 10 percent cap. It announced that beginning Oct. 15, all electricity generated by coal-fired plants would be priced through market trading. However, “the price cap wouldn’t apply to industries that consume power heavily,” it stated. This means that those clients could pay even more, in line with supply and demand without a cap. “In general, such measures are conducive to improving electricity supply and demand,” NDRC official Peng Shaozong said at a news conference on Oct. 12. While the reform …