China's power shortage to get worse than 2004

The State Grid Corp. of China stated that this year's power shortage may be worse than 2004.

According to a report by xinhuanet.com, some 26 provincial regions under the management of State Grid Corp. of China would suffer combined power shortages of 30 million kilowatts this year, said Shuai Junqing, the company's executive vice president.

As least 10 provincial grids, covering regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and industrial provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, would be hit by power shortages, Shuai added.

Shuai attributed this year's power woes to various factors, including a shortage of thermal coal, insufficient power generating facilities in some areas and grid transmission problems. "All these issues cannot be solved in the short term," he said.

In 2004, China suffered the worst power shortage since the beginning of the 1990s, with power cuts or limits imposed in 27 out of its 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

The full story is available at xinhuanet.com.