SHANGHAI: Government and other public-funded buildings in the city are coming under increased scrutiny as authorities step up their efforts to reach their ambitious energy saving goals.

Under an action plan issued earlier this month, by 2010, the municipal government wants energy consumption in the country's commercial and financial hub to be down 20 percent on the 2005 level.

Regular energy-use checks are now being carried out on residential and office buildings and the results are being used as part of the process to measure officials' performance.