Coal shortage closes power plants
16 January 2008
China Southern Power Grid will shut down 10.3 gigawatts of generating capacity across southern China due to a coal shortage and rising fuel prices, Reuters reported. The company's deputy general manager said three provinces in the power network - Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi - would face outages, and the entire five-province network, which also includes Guangdong and Hainan, could face a supply shortfall of 6 gigawatts in the first three months of the year, rising as high as 8 gigawatts in the summer. The problem of tight coal supplies has been exacerbated in some areas, including Yunnan, as a drought has cut hydropower output, he added. China has been a net importer of coal since early 2007, and is projected to have a coal shortage through at least 2010.
Bookmark and Share:
