China's power shortage to aggravate in 2004 (Xinhua) Updated: 2004-02-25 11:26
China will continue to face a shortage of electricity supply as the economy
keeps on the fast track, the chief supervisor of the power industry said in
Beijing on February 24.
Chai Songyue, chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC),
told a national work meeting on securing electricity production that China would
have a shortfall of more than 20 million kilowatts in electricity supply this
year.
He said in some areas of the country, the power shortage will be even worse
than last year.
Some 22 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities had to cut off
electricity at peak times in 2003 as China's economy galloped ahead at a speed
of 9.1 percent.
In the first two months of the year, a significant number of areas in the
country have already been forced to cut power supply though the peak time of
electricity consumption is yet to come.
Chai said electricity shortage would be acute in such areas as east and south
China. Certain parts of north, northwest and central China would also suffer
inadequate power supply. The problem would be most prominent in Jiangsu and
Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai City in east China this year, Chai said.
In order to guarantee more power supply, China will accelerate construction
of new electricity generating plants and power grids. At the same time, the SERC
and government will jointly develop incentive and punitive measures encouraging
balanced electricity consumption.
According to the forecast of the China Electricity Industry Association,
China's power generation capacity will grow 9 percent in 2004, while the
consumption of electricity will jump 12 percent. The association predicts that
in 2005, the electricity shortage will be eased to a certain
extent.