There will not be any large-scale power shortages this year, the
electricity industry watchdog said yesterday, allaying concerns of
previous years.
"With a number of power stations coming on line, there will be a
balance between supply and demand this year," Wang Yeping,
vice-chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission
(SERC), told a press conference.
In 2004, the country suffered its most serious shortages, with
24 provinces and regions affected despite power generation rising
14.9 percent over the previous year.
And in the following two years, the Yangtze River and Pearl
River deltas - the nation's economic powerhouses - grappled with
shortages.
This year, the generation capacity is expected to reach 700
gigawatts, said Wang, adding that installed capacity would increase
by 90-95 gigawatts.
Installed capacity rose 20.3 percent year-on-year to 622
gigawatts by the end of 2006, of which coal-fired power plants
accounted for 77.82 percent, he said.
China will take further steps to delink power plants from power
grids, said the SERC.
There are currently more than 4,000 electricity generators each
with a capacity of 6 megawatts or more. Roughly 90 percent of them
are State-owned enterprises or companies in which the State holds a
controlling stake.
The power transmission segment is a monopoly with the State Grid
Corporation of China and the China Southern Grid Corporation
accounting for 80 percent and 20 percent of the extra-high-voltage
grids.
The main power producers such as China Huaneng Group and China
Datang Corp are listed on the domestic or overseas stock markets.
However, the State Grid said that it has no listing plans for
now.
Meanwhile, the SERC yesterday denied that it has suggested
setting up an energy ministry.
"We have not submitted a proposal to the central government on
the establishment of the ministry," Wang said, refuting media
reports.
On March 28 the SERC, together with the World Bank and the
Ministry of Finance, jointly released a research report which
recommended that "an electricity sector policy-making entity, like
the Ministry of Energy, should be established in China, based
probably on the restructuring of the existing institutions".
(China Daily April 6, 2007)