China during the negotiations with the Russian company Inter RAO asked to increase the volume of electricity supplies in November and December 2021, about twice as compared with the same period of 2020, writes TASS with reference to the VRIO of the Chapter of the Trading of Inter Rao Block Alexander Panin. The Asian country is actively struggling with the energy crisis that arose due to the shortage of coal and record prices for fuel.
“If the official appeal will receive and will be confirmed by a technical opportunity for such a volume of deliveries, then following the results of 2021 there will be an increase in the delivery to China to 4 billion kilowatt-hour,” Panina told about possible doubling.
Since the beginning of October, the company has increased the volume of electricity exported to China by 90 percent. Earlier with such a request to Inter RAO, the State Electric Grid Company (GEC) of the PRC appealed. Electricity supplies from Russia along the Power line “Amur – Heihe” over the same period increased three times, which, according to GEK, “largely softens the tense situation with power supply.”
The energy crisis prompted the Chinese government to take various measures to increase coal production and control over the demand for electricity. Some provinces introduced measures for the rationing of electricity. Common purchases of coal in September increased by 17 percent in relation to the previous month (up to 32.9 million tons). This is the maximum indicator in 2021. The government is trying to provide the population with electricity and warmth before the winter season.
According to state media and government departments, China has advanced in the fight against the deficit due to an increase in the import of coal and electricity from Russia. According to the information of the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, China hopes to further expand the supply of Russian coal.
Consulsums of Russia in the Chinese city of Harbin, Vladimir Oschepkov, on October 1, said that since the beginning of 2021, the imports of Russian coal in Heilongjiang fell by 40 percent due to pandemic restrictions and lack of railway cars. Since then, repeatedly media reported that imports are being revived. Railway port of Suifanhe in the northeast province of Heilongjiang improves logistics to make more coal. According to the Sinhua State Formation, from October 1 to October 7, more than five thousand tons of coal per day were delivered to the port. Only for October 10 in the province of Zhejiang in the east, more than 50 thousand tons of coal were delivered.