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An electrician repairs an
electricity supply circuit in Hengfeng, Jiangxi Province. (China
Daily) | China is increasing electricity
exchanges across different regional grids to deal with the nation's worst
electricity shortage in two
decades.
Supplies from electricity-rich areas to power-pinched areas, such as eastern and
southern China, surged by 223 per cent year-on-year in the first six
months of 2004 to 28.6 billion kilowatthours, said the State Grid Corp.
The company oversees most of the nation's transmission assets, except
those in the south of the country.
Electricity exchanges between different provinces in the same regional
grids increased by 24.5 per cent to 59.5 billion kilowatt-hours in the first half of this
year, according to the company.
The power exchange surge was attributed to the completion of
several transmission lines during the period, including a 500-kilovolt
direct current transmission line from the Three Gorges to Guangdong
Province, the expansion of the transmission line from the Three Gorges to
East China's Jiangsu Province, a second transmission line from Northeast
China Grid to the North China Grid, and a second line from the Sichuan and
Chongqing Grid to East China.
The electricity flow from power-rich regions has helped alleviate the
severe electricity shortage in China's economic powerhouses of Guangdong
and eastern China such as Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The
regions are the areas most seriously hit by a nationwide power crunch that
has already swept over two-thirds of the nation.
External electricity supply to East China Grid now accounts for 10 per cent of the
region's total consumption. Guangdong also purchases more than 10 per cent
of its electricity from neighbouring areas such as Guizhou and Yunnan
provinces.
Ye Rongsi, vice-president of the China Electricity Council, said
electricity exchanges will become more common as grid companies strengthen
the links between separate regional grids.
"Although it cannot fully address the electricity shortage, power
exchanges do serve as a way to promote the optimization of resources," said Ye.
Ye said the power exchange projects will help eastern areas to take the
advantage of the rich power resources in those western areas, easing their
hunger for electricity, while allowing western regions to develop their
local economies.
China now has seven regional grids, covering Northeast China, Northwest
China, East China, Central China, North China, Sichuan and Chongqing, and
South China, and five independent provincial grids on the mainland. The
connection between regional grids are so fragile that cross-regional power
exchanges only account for less than 3 per cent of total electricity
generation.
China's grid companies are investing billions of dollars in promoting
the connection of power grids and establish a consolidated national
network by 2010.
State Grid said it will intensify electricity exchanges during the
summer, the seasonal consumption hike. The company plans to supply 11.5
billion kilowatthours of electricity during the July-September period to
the East China Grid. This is an almost 20 per cent increase compared to
the amount supplied during the same period last year.
State Grid had earlier said that electricity exchange is expected to
increase to 54.3 billion kilowatt-hours by the end of the year, a 66.7 per
cent rise over last year.
This
amount will further increase to 120 billion kilowatt-hours by 2010.
(China Daily) | 
Updated: 2004-08-06 09:22