At least nine provinces scattered throughout the country will face frequent power cuts this winter, when consumption hits another peak period, the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) warned at a Monday press conference.

A total of 24 provinces experienced blackouts in the first nine months of this year, even though power generated in the period climbed 14.5 percent year-on-year to 1.6 trillion kilowatts-hours.

The nationwide power shortage surpassed 30 million kilowatts this summer, according to SDRC deputy director Xu Zhimin. Xu is in charge of economic development.

The supply-demand relationship in the coal, electricity, oil and transportation sectors remains strained, said SDRC spokesman Cao Yushu, and soaring international oil prices have introduced an element of uncertainty that threatens the domestic price system and economic development.

According to Xu, China processed 202 million tons of crude oil in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 15.4 percent. The figure includes 130 million tons of domestically produced oil -- inching up 3 percent year-on-year -- and 85.8 million tons of imports, which jumped 36.2 percent.

Working programs should be drafted to ensure that power supplies to households, agriculture and major production units are not affected, Cao suggested. Production, transport and sale of coal and other important materials should be streamlined and coordinated to ease the negative impact of international oil price fluctuations.

(China Daily October 26, 2004)