Reuters reported that Hubei province has become the latest Chinese region to ration power supplies to energy guzzling industries such as steel, aluminium and cement as it copes with severe coal shortages brought about by fierce winter weather.
The power utility in the provincial capital of Wuhan home to China third biggest steel company Wuhan Iron and Steel Co Ltd issued a notice on Wednesday saying it would restrict non-essential power supplies to guarantee transmission to residential users.
A Wuhan Iron and Steel official told Reuters the company's main operations had so far been unaffected. He said that "It is a fact that power plants lack coal but our electricity supply is still normal and steel production has not been disrupted although we have indeed restricted electricity use at some secondary facilities such as packaging."
National Business Daily newspaper said Hubei located in central China was experiencing a daily power shortfall of more than 30,000 megawatt-hours, and the local grid had already slowed the transmission of electricity to 88 percent of the region's biggest industrial customers.
Power shortages in central China have been exacerbated by low reservoir levels which have cut hydropower output. State Grid Corp which covers the region has already shifted supplies from other regions including the Three Gorges Dam in order to meet the deficit. With many major transport routes clogged, coal shortages have spread across the country and power grids are struggling to maintain normal operations.
Southern Power Grid Corp said on Wednesday that as many as 270 transmission lines were frozen, with the regions of Guangxi and Guizhou in southwest China hit particularly hard by snow and ice. Shandong province on the eastern coast, a big coal and power producer, has an estimated capacity deficit of about 3,000 megawatts and transmission of electricity to other provinces has been disrupted following the breakdown of a number of generators.
Peak power loads are also surging in Zhejiang province as a result of the plunge in temperatures, with the daily capacity deficit now at 2,000 megawatts. Enterprises are being encouraged to switch to night shifts in order to ease the strain.
Big energy consuming industries endured a wave of restrictions in the second half of 2010 as part of Beijing efforts to meet national efficiency targets, and their recovery in the New Year has contributed to the current power crisis.
(Sourced from Reuters)
