Guangdong to cut fuel oil consumption to reduce excessive reliance

South China's Guangdong Province has formulated a plan to cut fuel oil consumption by 3.9 mm tons during each of the coming five years, in a move to reduce excessive reliance on oil. The province is expected to allocate 7.8 bn yuan (nearly $ 1 bn) for implementing the plan, known as " strategy of saving and substitution for fuel oil," a provincial conference was told.
The plan was adopted in response to higher oil prices and oil shortage, which has been blamed for suspension of electricity production in oil-fired power plants, and causing power shortage across the province. The issue of Guangdong's excessive reliance on oil has drawn attention from both the Guangdong provincial government and the central government, which urged the province to initiate the country's first oil-saving program and find a solution to the issue.

Guangdong's power industry, the major consumer of fuel oil, burnt 7 mm tons last year, or 70 % of the total fuel oil consumption in Guangdong. As part of the plan, coal will be used by some oil-driven power plants to replace 1.2 mm tons of oil, and hydro-electricity equivalent to 1 mm tons will be transmitted for consumption in Guangdong from southwest China. In addition, the province also plans to close down a number of small oil-driven power plants during 2001-2005, which is expected to substitute about half a million tons of oil.