Cold weather pinches power supply

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 01-28-2008 10:37

Continuous snowfall and low temperatures are causing power shortages in the southern regions. Urgent measures are being taken to ensure households have enough power for their daily needs.

What''s really making the situation dangerous is many major power companies don''t have enough coal to generate more electricity.

Air conditioners electric heaters these household appliances have to run almost 24 hours a day in many southern provinces this winter, due to the extremely cold weather.

A Ningbo resident said, "We seldom use heating appliances. But this year the indoor temperature fell too low. So we are using them day and night."

Demand is surging, and the frozen or damaged power lines are obviously not helping. But what's really making the situation dangerous is many major power companies don't have enough coal to generate more electricity.

One reason for the shortage is problems with transportation. Coal from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia comes to Qinhuangdao port by railway, where it's then transported South by sea. But ships are now having to wait for that coal to arrive.

The railway is taking longer because of the harsh weather.

A delivery plant worker of Qinhuangdao Port said, "Our operations are already difficult in such freezing weather. And it's very likely that there's ice in the coal. Getting rid of it takes time."

All this put together has hampered the whole transportation process and tripled the cost from its original 50 yuan a ton.

To ease the shortage of coal supplies, transportation departments have reassigned ships from overseas routes to move coal in China. Local ports have been asked to give these ships priority for docking and unloading.

Fu Jinxiu, official from the Ministry of Communication, said, "The 11 ships from China Shipping can carry 760,000 tons of coal. The four ships from COSCO can carry 80,000 tons. That should greatly ease the shortage."

Railway officials say they have set up a daily coal transportation volume report, to ensure coal storage in major electricity generating plants remains above the warning line.

At a State Council Video-phone Conference on Sunday, Premier Wen Jiabao called on the transport sector to do its part to ensure an adequate supply of coal. He also said workplace safety must also be improved to ensure supplies would not be disrupted by accidents.

Wen Jiabao said power supplies must be guaranteed for residential areas and key institutions such as schools and hospitals. He stressed the need for energy conservation nationwide, and said high-energy consuming companies must be forced to suspend operations when demand for electricity peaks.

Editor:Zhang Ning