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Power cuts in large parts of central China
Published on: 2010-01-08
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Large parts of central China are facing power cuts and energy rationing as a result of extreme winter weather that has disrupted coal supplies and prompted a spike in energy demand.


The State Grid said on Thursday the central Chinese provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi and Sichuan, as well as the municipality of Chongqing, were facing significant pressure on power supply systems as a result.
 

Beijing, which had 20cm of snow at the weekend, has started rationing natural gas to shopping malls and supermarkets because of a spike in demand, state media reported.


Central China has been left vulnerable to power cuts because of reduced coal supplies from Shanxi province. The area is one of China’s main coal producers but the government is implementing a plan there to close and merge all small coal mines in a bid to improve safety.


Hu Zhaoguang, an official at State Grid, said on Thursday that the power cuts would be “a short-term, temporary issue”. The electricity shortages were the result of problems transporting coal in the snow, lower hydropower output during the winter and reduced coal supplies.


Officials said Hubei province, which was already rationing power to some industrial users before the cold snap, appeared to be the worst affected, and the Hubei electric power company had imposed cuts on “several thousand” steel mills and other heavy industry companies, according to China Daily.


Amid reports that aluminium smelters in Hunan and Henan provinces had faced power disruptions, concerns about energy shortages have driven up aluminium prices in China by more than 4 per cent over the last few days. However, Chalco, the country’s largest aluminium producer, said it had suffered no problems.


China’s vast power generation network continued to expand last year, with output increasing by 7 per cent the China Electricity Council said on Thursday.


PetroChina said yesterday it planned to build a third pipeline to bring gas from inland China to more-populated eastern regions to meet soaring demand.

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