BEIJING - This
summer, China is expected not to suffer the same
large-scale power shortages that have hit the
nation this time of year for the past several
years. The country will reach a balance between
energy supply and demand in the second half of the
year, the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic
planning body, said June 8.
"With a number
of new power stations coming on line, China will
generally not see power shortages this summer,"
Zhang Guobao, vice-chairman of the NDRC, told a
press conference at the State
Council Information Office.
"And in electricity thirsty areas such as Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces,
power shortages will not occur," he added.
The installed capacity of new power
stations that came online in the first four months
of this year alone amounts to 22.39 gigawatts,
with total national capacity reaching 531
gigawatts. With other power stations in
construction, Zhang said capacity will rise by a
total of more than 70 gigawatts by the end of the
year.
China's power industry has seen
double-digit growth over the past four years, with
production rising 14.9% between 2004 and 2005
alone. But with economic growth pushing
electricity demand beyond generation capacity, the
nation has experienced power shortages since 2002.
In a drive to promote efficiency the
government will close small coal-fired generators,
whose outdated technology is uneconomical, said
Zhang. Coal-fired generators with a combined
capacity of 15 gigawatts will be closed over the
next five years.
Zhang said the government
also planned to link the electricity pricing
system more closely to raw material movements.
Because of the increasing cost of coal, the
government approved a mechanism linking coal and
power prices in 2004.
The mechanism
stipulates that if the price of coal rises by more
than 5% in any six-month period, electricity
prices can be adjusted. It allows for 70% of coal
price increases to be transferred to end-users.
Power generation firms bear the remaining 30%.
Coal power plants account for about 70% of
China's power industry, but the government has
vowed to promote clean energy sources, such as
nuclear power, to meet electricity needs. The
government aims to increase the capacity of
nuclear power stations to 40 gigawatts by 2020,
accounting for 4% of total capacity.
China
has opened bidding for companies to build its
third generation of nuclear power stations, which
will be located in Sanmen, in East China's
Zhejiang province, and in Yangjiang, in South
China's Guangdong province.
The government
is still in negotiation with foreign companies
hoping to build the new nuclear plants, said
Zhang. Bidders involved in the talks so far
include Paris-based Areva, Pittsburgh-based but
UK-owned Westinghouse Electric Company, and
Russia's AtomStroyExport.
