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November 19, 2009

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Coal comfort on power supply

COAL stocks for power plants were above the "alert" level in snow-hit regions of the nation, which will ensure continuous power supply, a senior official of State Grid Corp of China said yesterday.

Accumulative coal stocks for power plants directly supplying electricity to the state grid are about 27 million tons, according to the SGCC.

The power distribution network of SGCC covers 88 percent of the country's territory, and provides electricity for 1 billion people.

The alert level for coal stocks differed among plants and regions, said the official, who asked to be unnamed.

For example, for power plants near coal mines, three days of use would be an alert level, and less than seven days of use would be an alert for power plants in the central Hunan Province, he said.

"Coal stocks are nothing to worry about," the official said. "The crucial thing is the follow-up refill which depends highly on transportation."

The snowfall, which began on November 9, was unseen in decades in some northern and central provinces and hindered coal transport.

"Power supply in the north would not be a big problem as the snow did not affect the railway much and the highways are recovering," he said.

About 70 percent of coal supply in north China was transported by railway from Shanxi Province, and about 30 percent by road, he said.

The snow continued to move south and blanket Anhui and Hubei provinces on Monday, spurring concerns it would cause trouble for power supplies similar to snowstorms in early 2008, which paralyzed power lines in the southern part of the country.

Compared with last year, the snow and blizzard this year caused little damage to electricity facilities, according to the SGCC.

Shanghai faced a shortage of coal for power generation after four generators stopped working amid a sudden surge of power demand, the city's government said in a notice on its Website yesterday.

The shortage was a result of hindered coal transport from Qinhuangdao Port, the country's largest coal port.

Coal supplies were affected by snow in the north and thick coastal fog, but the situation improved as the weather cleared up, the official said.

Nearly 100 ships carrying coal left Qinhuangdao port, in Hebei Province, safely on Tuesday.

Rain and snow in the Yangtze River area in southern China should end on Saturday, according to forecasts on the Website of China's National Meteorological Center.



 

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