The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner,?plans to?increase the on-grid power prices by 0.02 yuan per kilowatt-hour in Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces in an effort to ease power shortages and increase profits of?local power companies, the Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.

The 0.02-yuan power price hike is equivalent to a 60-yuan increase in the unit price of standard coal, the newspaper cited an anonymous source as saying.

The provinces of Henan and Hubei will also raise power prices by 0.005 yuan per kwh, said the source.

On-grid power price increases?will?help?increase?local power companies' profit margins and reduce power shortages, the source said.

According to a statement issued by the China Electricity Council, in the first four months of this year, China's five major power producers posted a 10.57-billion-yuan loss.

However, the retail prices for electricity will remain unchanged, the source added.

The NDRC?has already?raised on-grid power prices in 16 provincial areas in April.