Businesses suffer from power shortages
Source: Xinhua |
May 5, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE small township of Songsha in east China's Zhejiang Province is dubbed the "capital of umbrellas" because the output of its 1,000-plus small- and medium-sized umbrella makers accounts for about one-third of the nation's total.
However, the bustling township has been baffled over the past few months by a frequent blackout due to rationing of electricity.
"Electricity in our township has been cut off one in every four days since March this year, and the outage affects all users, no matter whether they are industrial or residential," said Zhang Han, chief of Songsha township government.
Large enterprises in the eastern, economically developed region are not exempt from the power cutoffs either.
Power supply to Jiabao Holding Group, the chemical fiber giant in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was also cut off several times this year.
"Usually the power would be cut off for the whole morning and our employees had no places to have their lunch, as the canteen had no power," said Sun Xinwei, president of the company.
The power shortage has swept a large part of the country, especially in the eastern and southern regions, as the demand rose considerably months ahead of the summer peak.
According to a circular issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, about 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have started rationing electricity since the beginning of this year. The circular noted that China would face stringent power demand this year as use of electricity rises dramatically.
Statistics from the National Energy Bureau show that China's electricity consumption in the first quarter of this year has risen 12.72 percent annually to 1.09 trillion kilowatt hours.
As the summer peak is approaching, power shortages are likely to worsen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, where the economy is more developed, experts say.
The China Electricity Council predicted that electricity consumption in 2011 would rise 12 percent over last year to 4.7 trillion kilowatt hours.
However, the bustling township has been baffled over the past few months by a frequent blackout due to rationing of electricity.
"Electricity in our township has been cut off one in every four days since March this year, and the outage affects all users, no matter whether they are industrial or residential," said Zhang Han, chief of Songsha township government.
Large enterprises in the eastern, economically developed region are not exempt from the power cutoffs either.
Power supply to Jiabao Holding Group, the chemical fiber giant in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was also cut off several times this year.
"Usually the power would be cut off for the whole morning and our employees had no places to have their lunch, as the canteen had no power," said Sun Xinwei, president of the company.
The power shortage has swept a large part of the country, especially in the eastern and southern regions, as the demand rose considerably months ahead of the summer peak.
According to a circular issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, about 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have started rationing electricity since the beginning of this year. The circular noted that China would face stringent power demand this year as use of electricity rises dramatically.
Statistics from the National Energy Bureau show that China's electricity consumption in the first quarter of this year has risen 12.72 percent annually to 1.09 trillion kilowatt hours.
As the summer peak is approaching, power shortages are likely to worsen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, where the economy is more developed, experts say.
The China Electricity Council predicted that electricity consumption in 2011 would rise 12 percent over last year to 4.7 trillion kilowatt hours.
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