Jing cautioned that coal supplies may become low if industrial demand increase, as China’s major coal-generating province, Shanxi, has initiated a program of shutting down small mines.
Jing said During the peak demand period of June and July, when demand grows dramatically, tightness in supply is likely to happen, if the steel and base metals sectors have revived.
Power output dropped 1.3% in March 2009 from 2008, the fifth consecutive drop since October. Jing stated that she anticipated April to exhibit a similar fall.
As per a Reuters calculation, an additional month of decelerating power output would signify that China’s electricity production would have to run over 8% above 2008 levels to touch Jing’s estimate of 5% for the year.
Wei Jianguo, State Grid Energy Development Co’s general manager, stated that 2009 power usage was likely to increase 6% in 2009 to 3.65 trillion kWh. Coal-fired power output would increase 2.3% to 2.99 trillion kWh, 14 percentage points less than previous year’s growth rate.
