Growing pains felt as new gas pricing kicks in

The NDRC spared price hikes for residential use of natural gas, which would directly affect households, particularly those needy people, but high streets are expected to be impacted anyway.

As fuel for running buses and cabs rise, it is only a matter of time before commuters to begin sharing the costs.

According to the NDRC announcement, prices for existing gas usage will see a price hike of no more than 400 yuan per thousand cubic meters. Meanwhile, new usage price is pegged to 85 percent of a basket price of alternative fuels.

Price reforms for not only natural gas, but also electricity and water are also high on the government's agenda this year. The government called for a progressive pricing mechanism, according to a set of guidelines on economic reforms approved by the State Council in May.

Prices of other industrial products, like chemical fertilizers that depend on natural gas, are expected to rise, and that will push up the cost of agricultural products.

At local level, regional governments have de-facto power over the retail price of natural gas charged by stations, because without the approval from local authorities, gas stations technically could not pass price hikes on to their customers.

As economic growth has slowed, the government has stepped up efforts in pushing forward structural reforms, including more market-oriented pricing models for energy resources.

China's natural gas consumption has rocketed in the last decade, rising to more than 146 billion cubic meters in 2012 from 24.5 billion in 2000.

Its reliance on imported natural gas also soared, increasing to 42.5 billion cubic meters in 2012 from 60 million in 2006.

Still, natural gas accounts for around 5 percent of China's primary energy consumption, considerably lower than the average of about 20 percent worldwide.