Southern China Shuts Power Capacity on Coal Shortage

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — China has shut down more than 6 percent of the power generating capacity in its southern provinces because of a coal shortage, with the region bracing for the worst electricity shortage in at least five years.

Guangxi has shut 2.3 gigawatts, Guizhou 4.2 gigawatts and Yunnan 3.8 gigawatts, Xiao Peng, vice president of China Southern Power Grid Co., said in Beijing today. China’s southern provinces have 164 gigawatts of combined capacity, he said.


“The problem is serious,” Xiao said. “We have sent an urgent request to the central government to address the issue,” he said at the China 2008 Economic & Energy Outlook conference.

China burns coal to generate about 78 percent of its electricity. The nation became a net importer of coal for the first time in January last year and consumption has outpaced gains in output from Australia and Indonesia. Rising coal prices and domestic transportation bottlenecks have contributed to a lack of the fuel, Xiao said.

Bloomberg