(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-01-29 12:07

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top planner, Monday rejected a proposal to reopen small coal-fire power plants as severe power shortage plagues snowstorm-hit regions in China.

"The current power strain is connected to the shortage of coal. As a result, it's impossible to ease the situation by using more small coal-fired or thermal power plants," Zhu Hongren, vice director of the Economic Operation Bureau of the NDRC, said at a news conference.

The country should instead concentrate on the development of large power plant to alleviate the power shortages, he added.

Improving regulation of power demands and pooling limited coal resources to fuel large power plants was a better way to deal with the power shortages, according to Zhu.

Harsh weather has raged large parts of the country, putting the country’s transport and energy system to a halt and stranding millions of passengers on their way home for the upcoming Spring Festival.

Parts of China have come under especially severe power strain due to the transport disruption caused by snow and sleet, prompting suggestions of reopening small coal-fired power plants as a possible solution to the problem.

Currently low capacity power generation units constitute a large part of China’s power generation facilities, holding back China’s efforts in energy conservation and environmental protection as well as sound development of the power industry.

Official figures show the power industry closed 253 small coal-fired power units in the first nine months of 2007, which was equal to 9,030 megawatts.

Due to harsh weather conditions, China faces severe local power shortages, with 17 provincial power grids under strain and the largest local power gap approaching 40 megawatts.

China's power coal stocks was just over 21 million tons, less than half of the regular stock according to statistics updated on January 25.

Zhu attributed the current shortage of power and power coal to bad weather, coal supply shortages, transportation problems and constant high demand of coal.