Unprepared | So far, 32 coal-powered generating plants have suspended operations

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BEIJING - China's power plants are running out of coal, with less than three days' supply in some areas, the government said Tuesday, adding to the country's logistical headaches amid earthquake relief efforts.

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AP

ADDING TO PROBLEMS: Chinese workers load coal into a cart in Miyun, north of Beijing, China in this file photo. China’s power plants are running out of coal, with less than three days supply in areas, adding to the country’s logistical headaches amid earthquake relief efforts.

Lack of fuel has forced 32 power plants to shut down, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a report. It said two of those were in Sichuan province, where last week's magnitude 7.9 quake damaged the power supply grid.

The agency's warning came three months after freak winter snowstorms caught power plants without adequate coal supplies in February, causing blackouts and factory shutdowns.

Utility companies let coal stocks run low after Beijing froze power prices last year to cool inflation but let market-set coal prices continue to rise. With the cost of coal at record highs, power generators are trying to avoid losses by purchasing less.

China relies on coal for 70 per cent of its power.

The SERC gave no indication how Beijing might respond to the latest shortages.

Power plants in the eastern province of Anhui have an average of just 2.8 days' supply of coal, while those in Beijing have 6.9 days' supply, the agency said. The recommended minimum is 15 days; a week's supply is considered the "danger line."

In Sichuan province, where the May 12 quake killed tens of thousands of people, power plants have an average of just seven days' supply of coal and two facilities have none, according to the agency.

In February, the government responded to coal shortages by keeping hundreds of mines running through the Chinese New Year to replenish stockpiles. But Tuesday's report suggested power plants let supplies run down after that.

Regulators have rejected appeals by utility companies to raise power prices.

China's power demand is growing at double-digit annual rates, driven by a boom that saw the economy expand by 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year.