Independent power producer Datang International Power Generation has accelerated the commissioning of two 600-megawatt generators in Inner Mongolia to help Beijing avoid power cuts, a senior official says.
Executive director Yang Hongming said yesterday that the generators - the second phase of development of the Tuoketuo power plant - would start commercial operation at the end of this month and in August. They had been scheduled to start in the third and fourth quarters.
Mr Yang said Beijing had been facing the threat of its first power cut in years, with already strong demand expected to pick up over the summer.
'Electricity consumption [in Datang's core Beijing-Tianjin-Tanshan service area] is still very heavy,' he said, adding that the H share's electricity output had jumped 38 per cent during the first five months of this year compared with the same period last year.
A Credit Suisse First Boston research report estimates the early commissioning of the Tuoketuo generation units, which are near coal mines, will control Datang's fuel costs.
It estimated the full-year average unit fuel cost would be flat against its previous estimate of 1 per cent growth.