Efficient use of the nation's coal
resources is the best way for China to solve its current power supply problems,
national leaders declared Wednesday.
A State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to develop and
utilize the nation's coal resources in a sustainable and efficient way to ensure
supply stability.
The central government will encourage coal mines to develop clean coal
technology, while also working to increase coal output by updating the coal
production facilities and transforming and expanding major mines.
Efforts will also be made to reform the pricing of coal and electricity and
make the power price fluctuate with that of coal.
Comprehensive co-ordination of rail, road and marine transport must be
intensified to expand coal transport capacity.
Participants at the meeting also urged local governments to close illegal
small mines scattered across the country, while also laying stress on production
safety.
More than 80 per cent of the nation's power plants use coal to generate
electricity, with coal shortages resulting in power shortfalls in many provinces
in past months.
More than 40,000 enterprises in Yiwu of East China's Zhejiang Province have
stopped using electricity provided by the national power grid since July 24 to
ensure local residents have sufficient supplies, City Express reported.
Some manufacturers have suspended production, while others use diesel
generators to obtain electricity, the report said.
"Many factories hesitate to accept orders because of the severe power
shortage. The direct loss from the suspension of production in my factory
amounts to more than 3 million yuan (US$360,000) in past ten days," the report
quoted a leading local business person as saying.
Since the beginning of last month, 24 provinces have imposed restrictions on
power supplies.
The power shortage in the third quarter was estimated to reach over 30
million kilowatts and East China's power grid will lack more than 18 million
kilowatts, experts say.
China's national railway authority has urged local railway departments to
make every effort to ensure coal transport in order to help ease the nation's
power shortage.
Ministry of Railways statistics indicate that, among a total of 310,000
carriages of the nation's railway departments, 220,000 have been used to
transport coal.
A total of 400 million tons of coal were transported via rail from January to
May this year, a year-on-year increase of 46.82 million tons.
The nation's railway system had transported more than 62 million tons of coal
in 20 days since late July, among which are 35 million tons for the use of
generating electricity.
The Ministry of Railways also urged local cargo transport departments last
week to stabilize freight charges to ensure fuel transport.
