Power shortages in Shandong province, a major industrial base in eastern China, increased to as much as 10.22 gigawatts (GW) on July 30, or 27.6 percent of its maximum demand, and more difficulties are expected ahead, the local grid operator said.
Shandong's power shortage had risen as high as 8.82 GW on July 27, or 20 percent of its generating capacity connected to the local grid, as many generators had been idled since early July due to coal shortages, poor coal quality, transportation limits, generator malfunctions, maintenance and other factors.
Major power plants in Qingdao and Weifang have shut down five generators with total capacity of over 1.76 mln kilowatts as of July 28, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Around 70 pct of the coal supply in the eastern Chinese province is externally sourced from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces, among others, according to Xinhua.
Shandong had forecast its peak summer power deficit at 7.6 GW, the largest estimated gap of any Chinese province.
The power supply tightness will worsen as demand is expected to increase along with rising summer temperatures while coal stocks at most of the major power plants were not enough for seven days' generation, the Shandong Electric Power Corp said in the latest report on its website (www.sepco.com.cn).
Generators have been operating well below capacity since the second half of July because of persistently rising coal prices, tight coal supply and falling coal quality, the report said.
Industrial firms in some regions were required to stop power use as much as four days a week to ensure electric power for residents and key users linked to national security and the public interest.
China is facing its worst power crisis since 2004, with more than a dozen provinces rationing power and estimated peak power deficits amounting to some 40 GW, or 6 percent of China's generating capacity.
In June the government announced a surprise 4.7 pct hike in power prices, effective July 1, a level not sufficient to completely offset operating losses at power plants.