China's power load hits peak in summer heat

China's power load hit a record high amid summer heat waves, with the country's maximum power load reaching a record 1.22 billion kilowatts and power generation reaching 27.85 billion kilowatt-hours on Wednesday, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The government has been making every effort to ensure sufficient energy supply during the summer peak and the supply has been stable so far, Li Yunqing, director of the Operation Bureau at the National Development and Reform Commission, said during a news briefing.

The commission said it had been urging coal-producing regions to increase production safely and efficiently. The country produced 1.81 billion tons of coal during the first five months this year, up 10.4 percent year-on-year. Domestic oil output rose to 85.69 million tons during the same period, up 4.1 percent year-on-year, while that of natural gas rose 5.8 percent year-on-year to 92.4 billion cubic meters.

China's power generation capacity has also been on the rise. Installed power generation capacity in the country reached 2.44 billion kilowatts so far.

To meet demand, the government also vowed steady development of renewable energy in the country, including hydro, nuclear, solar and wind power. The construction of the first batch of massive wind and solar power projects in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions in China has been moving forward steadily with more than 95 million kilowatts of capacity already under construction.

Li said the government will also step up energy storage capacity construction, including underground gas storage, pumped hydro energy storage and chemical storage to ensure sufficient energy supply.

From: ChinaDaily