Russia doubles electricity exports to China to help ease power crunch

INTER RAO Lietuva AB

01/10/2021 15:09

MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russia's electricity exports
monopoly Inter RAO  IRAO.MM  said on Friday that it would double
its October supplies to China after a request from the world's
No.2 economy as it grapples with power cuts.
    China is scrambling to deliver more coal to utilities to
restore supply, as nearly two-thirds of Chinese provinces
struggle with power rationing. The three northeast provinces of
Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin - home to nearly 100 million
people - have been particularly hard hit.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QX0BS urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QW09N
    Inter RAO, which received a request from the State Grid
Corporation of China to increase electricity supplies to the
country's northern provinces this week, started to increase
exports on Friday, the company told reporters.
    In October, its exports to China will rise by 100%
year-on-year and by 90% from the original plan for this month,
the Russian company said.
    All three Russia-China transmission lines, which are capable
of delivering up to 7 billion kilowatt-hours of electrical power
per year, will be used for supplies, it added.
    A top official of China's state-asset regulator said on
Friday the country's power supply situation remains challenging
and urged grid firms to prioritise residential use and ensure
safe operation as winter approaches.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QX0BS
    Coal fuels about two-thirds of China's power generation.
    Inter RAO exported 3.06 billion kilowatt hours to China last
year.

 (Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; editing by Susan Fenton)
 ((anastasia.lyrchikova@thomsonreuters.com))