Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Coal stocks nearing critical shortage

A severe coal shortage has caused power supplies to factories and residential neighborhoods to be temporarily suspended across seven provinces and regions, as the nation's energy shortage worsens.

Coal reserves have been emptied by a huge surge in power demand, prompted by a cold weather front that swept China last week, according to the State Grid Corporation, China National Radio (CNR) reported Sunday.

In northwest Shaanxi Province, 14 major thermal power stations had only enough coal stocks for four days, with two others already empty. Due to this worrying state of affairs, many enterprises and residents in the province have received notice of impending power cuts, according to the local China Business View.

In provincial capital Xi'an, water supplies and heating systems have been affected. One residential compound containing 12,000 households announced that the power would be cut for the next 10 days from 8 am to 11 pm, the paper reported. (more)

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