China's largest commercial city Shanghai expects electricity shortages to continue through the coldest months of the year as capacity fails to meet rising demand, state press reported yesterday.
Electricity shortages this winter and next spring in the eastern city will amount to about 1.35 million kilowatts and 1.55 million kilowatts, the Shanghai Morning Post reported citing municipal officials.
Although the country is moving into the fall and winter seasons where power use is typically lower than in the hot summer months, supply is still expected to remain under pressure due to strong economic growth, the newspaper said.
Loads during the period will reach 14.2 million kilowatts or equal to that of this summer, with shortages expected throughout all of next year as the city's power demands expand to about 19 million kilowatts, the newspaper said.
Beginning in May, China's financial hub was forced to ration electricity to factories and retailers and turned off decorative street lighting to cope with the shortfall. Most restrictive measures have since been lifted.
Demand will continue to rise, however, with load in 2006 forecast to reach 20.7 million kilowatts, while in 2010 the city's power needs will hit 24.5 million.
Respite will not come until at least 2006 when new capacity is set to come on line.
Since 2000, the East China Power Grid, where Shanghai gets most of its electricity, has run at full capacity, but this summer the eastern region suffered its worst power shortage in history.
The officials from the city of 17 million people have said they will spend more than 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion) in the next decade to upgrade electricity production and distribution facilities.
China itself underwent its worst power crisis in 20 years with 24 of 31 mainland provinces facing huge shortfalls in the May through last month.
Officials have earmarked new construction of power stations aimed at doubling total power generation capacity to about 900,000 megawatts by 2020 from the current 400,000.
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