The Power Generation Blog: Sizzling Summer Scorches Power Production

(Image courtesy of the World Meteorological Organization)

The United States isn't the only country suffering from the effects of a blistering Summer. It was recently reported that because of a heat wave, China's twenty-four hour electricity consumption rate reached its highest level in all of history, when it hit nearly 13 billion killowatt-hours on Monday, July fifth. The previous world record, from last July, was exceeded by over five percent. The article, from English.news.cn, stated the following information regarding the stress on China's power generation infrastructure:

"The heat wave is affecting at least 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC), which issued an orange-level heat alert on Tuesday, the second highest level. With temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius, the electricity load in Beijing, Tianjin, Fujian and north China hit record high on Monday."

In order to avoid power shortages throughout the rest of the Summer, Chinese power officials are working diligently to predict electricity-demand patterns from the sixteen effected areas. Whether or not global warming is real or just a theory is a whole different topic, but those in the industry of power generation would do well to take a cue from the problems China is experiencing. Until new technologies are developed and as long as global temperatures continue to rise, power costs and the demands on the resources of every nation will continue to increase.

For more information on the Chinese heat-wave, in English, click the link:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/06/c_13386638.htm

To learn more about the demands of power generation in the United States and Germany, visit the PACT website:

http://www.pactinc.com/