An executive meeting of the State Council discussed and approved suggestions on deepening the reform of the electricity from 2006 to 2010.

Councillors at the meeting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, on Wednesday said the electricity industry was important for national economic and social development.

The councillors urged the industry to step up system reform, improve structure, accelerate the construction of power grids and change growth patterns over the five-year period.

Efforts should also focus on boosting efficiency, reducing costs and improving services to promote its development in a stable, healthy, coordinated and safe way.

Councillors called for a "unified and open" electricity market, a price mechanism that complied with the market economy and a sound market supervision system.

Electricity was directly related to the development of the economy, social stability and living standards, they said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2006)