People freeze in Chinese city as emission norms take effect
By IANSFriday, January 14, 2011
BEIJING - Thousands of people in China’s Linzhou city may have to endure the freezing winter without support after a major heating service provider has shut operations following the closure of a local power plant to meet the government’s emission control goals.
The problem started after the Linzhou Youchuang Power Co., a coal-fired power plant, which supplies power to Bikun and Liyuan heating companies, was ordered to cease operations. Two cooling towers at the plant had been dismantled, and power supplies to the companies were stopped Jan 5.
Fu Zaocheng, manager of Bikun Heating Company, said his company has managed to secure power from a local steel mill and thus was still supplying heating to over 1,500 households in the city.
But Liyuan Heating Company couldn’t find an alternative power supplier and hence had to stop operations. Its clients included schools, hospitals, government buildings and about 3,500 households.
The interruption to the heating service came as temperatures in Linzhou in China’s central Henan province fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The Linzhou People’s Hospital was using its own heating system to keep the wards warm, a receptionist at the hospital requesting anonymity told China Daily Wednesday.
Fu blamed the problem on the delayed construction of a new power plant to replace Youchuang. The new plant should have started operating in July 2010, he said.
Power supplies in the country have been restricted since mid-2010, after Beijing made it mandatory for the local governments to save energy and cut emissions.
