Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A coal shortage has forced the closure of 39 electric plants, reducing production by 6.37 gigawatts. After the serious damage caused by the earthquake in Sichuan, and by the heavy snowfall in January, the country is in danger of a serious energy shortage this summer.
Production is at risk in many other plants, especially in Hebei, Hunan, inner Mongolia, and Anhui, with enough coal supplies for only 4-5 days. The price of coal has risen sharply in recent months, but the government has kept energy prices fixed since mid-2006, to limit inflation. So many plants are operating at a loss, and have reduced their coal reserves to a minimum to contain costs, with the risk that they might have to shut down if supplies are delayed.
In Sichuan, "many hydropower plants have been damaged by the quake, and State Grid is diverting electricity to ease a power shortage in Sichuan from other parts of the country", explains Lu Jian, spokesman of State Grid Corp. of China, the leading electricity distributor in the country.
The situation is serious because there is still extensive damage caused by the snowfall that shut down 7% of the coal-fired power plants. Together, the two disasters have caused at least 20.5 billion yuan (about 2 billion euros) in losses to State Grid. Lu concludes that "there is a national energy shortage", but he says he is confident that the country "will be able to overcome the difficulties, with the help of the government", and if there is significant further investment from abroad.