Beginning early Sunday, a total of 1.5 billion kwh of electricity
will be transferred to east China areas from southwest China's
Sichuan Province in 2003.
Officials at the State Grid Corporation of China said 300 million
kwh of electricity will be diverted to east China's electricity
grid every month to ease power shortages there.
The electricity will be transferred via the newly operational Three
Gorges transmission and converting system, cutting the distance
from 2,552 km to 1,644 km, officials said.
Officials from Sichuan said the electricity supply to east China
would not affect power use in the province as surplus power supply
had been achieved following a period of abundant rainfall.
The electricity transferred to east China, equivalent to the power
generated by burning about 56.51 million tons of coal, would meet
peak electricity use in summer in the eastern area.
By
mid-May this year, China had generated a total of 648.546 billion
kwh of electricity, up 16.03 percent from the same period last
year.
Increasing power demand as the country continues its modernization
drive has put immense pressure on power grids in some areas,
especially in the relatively developed coastal regions like
Shanghai and Guangdong.
Meanwhile, increased industrial output, lower prices and demand for
high power-consuming appliances such as air-conditioners are
causing power shortages in 16 provinces, according to a report from
the State Grid Corporation.
To
cope with the problem of power supply, China launched a
west-to-east power transmission project in 2000, making it one of
China's major strategies in energy development and an important
step for developing the western regions.
(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2003)