BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - State Grid Corp, one of China's two major power
distributors, said it will supply 970 mln kWh of electricity to help ease power
shortages in central China.
The region has been suffering from insufficient coal stocks, low water
levels and high temperatures.
The company signed electricity supply contracts with power companies in
Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, among others, to provide additional power
during the period of shortages.
Central China Grid has shut down power generators with total capacity of
5.36 mln kilowatts as of mid July due to coal shortages as a result of rising
prices and transport disruptions caused by the May earthquake in Sichuan.
In addition, water levels in the main reservoirs in Hunan and Hubei are at
their lowest in years, causing sharp declines in hydropower production, it said.
Power demand in Central China was 75.04 mln kilowatts in early June, up
13.94 pct year-on-year.
Hunan, Henan and Chongqing, among others, have already started electricity
rationing.
State Grid has urged power plants in central provinces to increase coal
stockpiles, which have not been replenished to adequate levels because the fuel
has become more expensive.
Last month the government announced a surprise 4.7 pct hike in power prices,
a level which is not sufficient to completely offset operating losses at power
plants.
kelly.zang@xfn.com
-
xfnkz/xfntm
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|