China's power coal stockpiles have stopped shrinking and started
to rally steadily as a result of heightened output and expedited
rail transport, Xinhua learned on Tuesday from the State
Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC).
Power coal reserves reached 24.06 million tons on Sunday, up
2.99 million tons from the low point on Jan. 28, SERC supervisor
Tan Rongyao said.
Full or partial electricity service has been resumed in 40 of
the 50 cities and counties in southwestern Guizhou Province that
have been cut off for days.
Transmission wires paralyzed by blizzards and a deep freeze in
the worst-hit provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi have restored 53
percent and 60 percent of their normal electrical loads,
respectively, he said.
In another development, the 355 power plants that depend on
railways for coal supplies have reported an aggregate stockpile of
2.64 million tons, enough for 10.8 days. The number of power plants
with coal reserves of less than three days dropped from 65 to 34,
said the Ministry of Railways.
Daily shipments during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday,
which begins on Wednesday, must stay above 42,819 rail container
trucks, said the ministry.
The latest directive from the government's emergency command
center ordered that electric lines of or below 220 kilovolts be
restored before the Spring Festival to secure the power supply for
residential purposes.
Transmission lines that serve critical infrastructure --
railways, utilities (gas, water and telecommunications), finance,
energy and manufacturing -- should get preferential repairs.
The command center ordered power plants to keep a minimum 10-day
coal stockpile; otherwise, generation and consumption must be
rationed. Power supplies for coal mines and chemical enterprises
must not be cut off, it said.
At a meeting late on Monday, the center called on everyone to
conserve electricity, including in Spring Festival decorations.
Chinese like to light up their houses on Spring Festival Eve to
dispel Nian, a legendary man-eating beast whose name sounds like
the Mandarin word for "year".
With the gradual recovery of railway, expressway and air traffic
and clear weather forecast for most of China during the Lunar New
Year holiday, the command center urged relevant departments to get
ready for post-disaster reconstruction. Home rebuilding, rebuilding
livestock herds and restoring farming would get priority, it
said.
The ministries of civil affairs and finance have allocated 204
million yuan (about 28.33 million U.S. dollars) to bankroll house
repairs in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Guizhou and Sichuan
provinces, and Guangzi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Emergency rescues were continuing even as the damage to housing
was being calculated, Ministry of Civil Affairs officials
said.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)
