ZHEJIANG POWER NEEDS MET BY BLACKOUTS IN SHANGHAI

UNCLAS SHANGHAI 000074 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, EEB, OES, AND INR USDOC FOR 4420 USDOC FOR ITA/MAC DAS KASOFF, MELCHER AND MCQUEEN TREASURY FOR OASIA/DOHNER, WRIGHT, MEDIEROS, CUSHMAN STATE PASS USTR STRATFORD STATE PASS USNRC FOR CHAIRMAN KLEIN USDOE FOR MIZROCH/CHIANG/GINSBERG USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL/PUMPHREY AND GEBERT STATE PASS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION CHAN/KAFAFI/HUBER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG ECON PGOV CH SUBJECT: ZHEJIANG POWER NEEDS MET BY BLACKOUTS IN SHANGHAI REF: A. BEIJING 303 ¶B. SHANGHAI 51 (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified and for official use only. Not for distribution outside of USG channels or via the internet. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Zhejiang Province's electrical grid and power supply system that was severely damaged during the recent winter storms (Refs A and B) have been largely repaired, but generation and transmission capacity is not yet fully restored. The Shanghai Electric Power Company (SEPC) has sent more than 700 employees to assist in the repairs of neighboring Zhejiang's electrical network and is conducting rolling black-outs of industrial users in Shanghai in order to supply Zhejiang with electricity, according to an SEPC official on February 20. End summary. ¶2. (U) According to media reports, Zhejiang's power grid had the largest number of downed 500 kilovolt transmission lines in China leading to power outages covering more than 70 percent of the province. More than 23 million people were without electricity. Power outages and damage to power lines contributed to the more than USD 230 million in economic losses sustained by Zhejiang Province. ¶3. (U) By February 20, more than 96 percent of the power users affected by blackouts in Zhejiang Province were back online. Areas that were still without power are mainly located in villages in remote geographical areas. State Grid Vice General Manager Chen Jingxing was quoted in local media as promising that Zhejiang's grid will be fully-repaired by March 20. Generation and transmission capacity in Zhejiang is expected to be about 1,650 megawatts by February 21, almost 600 megawatts short of a projected demand of 2,300 megawatts as factories shuttered for Chinese New Year come back online. This energy shortfall will be met by blackouts of industrial users in order to insure adequate residential supplies in urban areas, according to media reports. ¶4. (SBU) According to the SEPC Foreign Affairs Office Director Zhao Yu, Shanghai has also instituted rolling black outs of electricity to heavy industrial power users in the chemical and metal industries in an attempt to free up between 300-500 megawatts of electricity that will then be re-routed to Zhejiang and other areas affected by the storms. The rolling blackouts were instituted on top of the January 28 requirement that 18 major industrial electricity consumers reschedule production to non-peak hours. ¶5. (SBU) Media reports, quoting the Shanghai Economic Commission, indicate that Shanghai has its own generating capacity of 11.3 million kilowatts, and it imports a further four million kilowatts to meet demand. (Note: This figure is for normal production, as indicated in Ref A, Shanghai has the capability to generate a peak of approximately 1,400 megawatts. End note.) At the height of the winter storm and concomitant unusually cold weather, peak grid load in Shanghai hit 1,802 megawatts on January 17, before rationing measures were enforced. With the rolling blackouts and other reductions in consumption, Shanghai's grid load is expected to be average 1,560 megawatts in February. JARRETT