Continued bad weather and fuel shortages in China have pushed the country’s power crisis to greater levels with the forced closure of a total of 41 GW of generating capacity.
Chinese vice premier Zeng Peiyan has urged local authorities and government departments to do everything possible to ensure the smooth production and transportation of coal in central, eastern and southern China, where heavy snow has affected major infrastructure and transport routes.
The government has reported that 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have suffered blackouts, while power grids in Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces have been damaged.
China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) has asked coal mines and the country’s two major oil producers to step up fuel production to help ease the shortage of fuels for power stations. SERC figures show that coal reserves in China stand at just over 21 million tonnes – enough for around 10 days’ supply for power plants.
Major industrial energy consumers have had their power supplies strictly limited in affected areas, and priority has been given to domestic consumers as well as schools, hospitals and other key consumers, according to the government.
The bad weather – the worst in 50 years in the region – is affecting both demand and supply for coal. Thousands of people have been relocated, crops have been damaged and some livestock has died.
The problems in China, together with coal supply disruptions in Australia and South Africa, has pushed coal prices to an all-time high.
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