Major domestic nuclear power operators have called for tackling surplus power-generating capacity, as the sector's annual losses now amount to 46.2 billion kilowatt-hours, domestic news site the paper.cn reported on Wednesday.
More should be done to improve inter-provincial grid connections and ensure that electricity doesn't go to waste, according to a proposal by deputies to the 12th National People's Congress, media said.
They also urged that nuclear power plants be reserved for baseload use.
The proposal was initiated by He Yu, chairman of China General Nuclear Power Corp, and joined by several other industry executives including Wang Shoujun of China Nuclear Engineering Corp Group and Wang Binghua, chairman of China Power Investment Corp.
There are 36 nuclear power reactors in operation in the Chinese mainland, with 21 already under construction and more about to start construction, according to the World Nuclear Association.
While the central government's drive to cut smog is giving a boost to nuclear power, coal-fired plants are still dominant.
Currently, the total annual output of China's nuclear plants is 33.6 million kilowatts, or nearly 3 percent of total electricity output. That's lower than the world average level of 11 percent, said the paper.cn.
Nuclear technology means that those reactors are essentially baseload generators, or those that are in constant operation, as opposed to plants used to meet additional demand during peak periods.
"Reactors can't be turned on and off (the way other types of plants can), so they should always be used for baseload demand," an employee at a major electricity distributor told the Global Times on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
As some major provinces have been tackling the capacity glut in recent years, local coal-fired plants were asked to serve as baseload generator to achieve the goal of slashing the coal inventory, which has replaced some of the quotas for nuclear power plants, as local authorities are in charge of allocating and distributing electricity generated by different resources, he explained. "The issue involves not only interests of local authorities but also that of power plants," said the employee.
Due to sluggish electricity demand, all kinds of generating facilities, not only nuclear plants, often operate below full capacity, Li Li, an industry expert at Shanghai-based consulting firm ICIS China, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"There's no international standard for the efficient use of nuclear plants, but local authorities need to achieve balance in the sector," she said.
