CHINA'S ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY SUPPORTS INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION THROUGH INCREASED PRODUCTION AND ECONOMIZATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-04546A003100070015-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 15, 2006
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: September 15, 1966
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2006/08/15: CIA-RDP78-04546AO03100070015-7
CR/GR 332/00012-67 (3 of 3)
CHINA'S ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY SUPPORTS
INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
THROUGH INCREASED PRODUCTION
AND ECONOMIZATION
Large-scale Increase in Power Generating
Facilities in 1965
The electric power industry in China has recently
shown rapid development, and it is meeting the development
of industrial production and the demand for rural electri-
fication. The electric power situation during this process
is reported as follows by the dispatches of the New China
Yews Agency.
In China in 1965 power generating facilities which
surpass the grand total of those in 1963 and 1964 were put
into production.
New transmission lines were stretched to main grain-
and cotton-producing areas, and the consumption of electric
power in these areas was increased by 29% over the preceding
year.
At present, in most villages in over half of the
2,126 hsien throughout the nation, electricity is being util-
ized for irrigation, drainage, processing of agricultural
products, and illumination of the houses of rural families,
schools, people's commune offices, and clubs.
The consumption of electric power in the rural areas
in 1965 had increased by,25 times compared with that in 1957
-- the year preceding the establishment of the people's com-
munes.
China's electric power industry fulfilled in advance
the annual target for 1965. Great results were achieved in
1965 regarding safe production and supply of electric power.
At thermo-electric power stations a total of 1.6 tons
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of fuel was saved, and in the process of electric power sup-
ply, 490 million Ka1I of electric power. were economized.
A dispatch of the Chung-kuo Hsin-wen She (China News
Service) dated 2 May 1966 reports as follows on the situation
of electric power in the rural areas.
Since the formation of the people's communes in 1958,
the electrification of rural areas had seen great progress
in broad rural villages of China, especially in the suburbs
of cities and the main food and cotton production centers.
At present the capacity of electric motors for farmland ir-
rigation has increased 45 times compared with that in 1957,
and the consumption of electric power in the rural areas has
increased 34 times. Electricity has been spread to over
1,300 hsien throughout the nation. The progress made in
rural electrification in'the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze
River Delta, the North China Plain, the Sung-liao Plain, the
Kuan-chung Plain, and the middle and lower reaches of the
Yangtze and Yellow Rivers is of considerable scale. In such
national minority areas as Kwangsi, Inner Mongolia, and Sin-
kiang the use of electric power in rural areas is making
constant progress. In the Tibet Autonomous Region situated
in the Southeastern Plateau of China, over 30 medium and
small power generating stations have been constructed in the
past several years. In remote mountainous areas where no
electricity was used, electric lights now glitter like so
many stars.
Construction of Power Stations in Several Places
The construction of power stations of late is as fol-
lows: The Number 2 generator (75,800 KW) at the Che-hsi
Hydroelectric Power Station began its generation in 1965,
and the Number 3 generator is ready to be installed. Simi-
larly, the Number 3 generator at the Hsi-ta-yang Hydroelec-
tric Power Station (9,000 KW) in Hopei Province started its
generation on 10 January 1965. The installation of the Num-
ber 5 generator (72,500 1(W) at the Hsin-an-chiang Hydroelec-
tric Power Station (650,000 117) was completed, and its Num-
ber 6 generator is being presently installed. The Number 1
generator (generating power unknown) at Nan-ch'ung-ch'ing-
chu -- the first generating station on the Chia-ling River
in Szechwan Province -- has begun operation. The following
is news pertaining to small power stations in various places.
K_wangtung Province -- In T'ai-shan Hsien, construction
of the Overseas Chinese Hydroelectric Power Station (invested
in by overseas Chinese) at Ta-lung-tong (over 2,000 KW) was
completed. Over 70 km of high-voltage transmission lines
were installed, and formal operation began on 18 November
1965. (China News Service, 28 November 1965.)
In Ta-pu Hsien, the Pai-hou Hydroelectric Power Station
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(2,080 KW) is under construction. Four sets of generator
units will be installed here.
In the rural areas of the ,i and Miao Autonomous Chou
in Hainan over fifty small hydroe.ctric power stations (in-
cluding hydraulic turbines capable of generation) have begun
operation. In the same autonomous chouare 23 hydroelectric
power stations and a group of hydraulic turbine pumping sta-
tions capable of power generation. (New China News Agency,
3 July 1966.)
Fukien Province -- The western part of the province
has water resources amounting to five million KW. At pres-
ent there are over 80 small power stations scattered through-
out villages in the hills. These power facilities total 30
times more than those of the Liberation period, and their
generating capacities are more than 50 times as great. The
length of their transmission lines is 3,400 Km. In 1965
plans to construct over 70 power plants with over 1,500 KW
capacity were formulated. Already the construction of 26
plants with almost 700 ITV total capacity has been undertaken.
(China News Service, 11 October 1965.)
in Yu-hsi Hsien the construction of 63 small power
plants with a total capacity of 1,800 KWF has been completed,
and 17 additional power plants are under construction. (NCNA,
2 July 1966.)
Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Chow -- Here power genera-
tion for 18 days is equivalent to that for one year before
the Liberation. The capacity of power plants has been in-
creased over 20 times compared with the early post-Liberation
period. In addition to large and medium power plants, a
group of small hydroelectric power stations have been con-
structed. (CNS, 10 October 1965.)
In the Ta-miao and Shan-miao Autonomous Hsien many
people's communes constructed a group of small hydroelectric
power stations in 1965. (CNS, 1 February 1966.)
Yunnan Province -- There was only a small power plant
of 240 I7,17 capacity in Ta-li Hsien before the Liberation, but
now a hydroelectric power plant has been constructed at Hsi-
erh-hai. Thus the supply of electric power has been greatly
improved. (Chung-kuo Hsin-wen [China News], 5 February 1966.)
In the Ilsi-shuang-pan-na Thai Autonomous Chou seven
small-scale power stations have now been completed and there
are eight others now in construction.
In the Thai farming villages in Lu-hsi Its ien of the
Te-hung Thai Chingpo Autonomous Chou are found 23 small hydro-
electric power plants, and 4,000 farming families are using
electric power.
The Sinkiang Uighur Autonomous Region -- In this auto-
nomous region over 300 medium and small power plants have been
completed. Thus the electric generation capacity has been in-
creased by six times compared to that in 1955. Before the
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Liberation there were only small power plants at Urumchi,
Ining, and Tahcheng. But considerably large power plants
have already been constructed at over ten cities including
Urumchi, K'u-la-ma-i, Shih-ho-tse,'?gashgar, and in the fac-
tory and mining districts. Moreover, small thermo-electric
and hydroelectric power plants are under construction in
scores of hsien scattered both north and south of the Tien-
shan Mountains, at over 100 State-operated farms, livestock
farms and at some people's communes. (NCNA, 22 September
1965.1
Tibet -- There are over 40 medium and small power
plants. In the latter half of 1965, six small hydroelectric
power stations here completed, and the plans call for the
construction of 12 power plants. The generating power of
each of these ranges usually from 10 KW' to several tens of
Kai, and they are under construction through the investment
by the sectors related to the Central Government.
Tsinghai Province -- The largest and 27th hydroelec-
tric power station of the province was completed and began
operation in the latter part of March 1965 (400 KW); it is
situated along the Huang-shui River. (NCNA, 2 April 1965.)
The Capacities of the Completed Large Power Plants
Through these news reports we can judge that numerous
small power plants have been constructed in the rural areas
throughout the nation. As to large power plants, the Number
2 generator (57,500 KW) at the Hsi-chin Power Plant seems to
have begun operation. And it is about time for the 44,000
(400,000`X'IV) on the Yellow River to begin operation. ~In---'
1965, hydroelectric power generating facilities amounting
hydroelectric generating facilities are naturally combined
with the designing of dams, it is consequently imagined that
a large power station has been completed on the Yellow River
system in order to install these facilities.
As to thermal power generation, China has succeeded
in the trial manufacture of a 100,000 KW double internal
water-cooled steam turbine generator. It is reported that
this Chinese-developed generator, which directly cools the
stator and rotor with water, can boost generation capacity
50,000 ICY generator unit has now been mass produced for sev-
eral years, there should be no technical problems in mass
producing 50,000 and 100,000 ICY generators.
ry^^ As to power transmission, transformers as large as
Mukden. Large transformers with capacities of 240,000 KVA
nave recently been manufactured. The advanced air-filled
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type 220,000 KVA high-voltage circuit breaker is being pro-
duced at the Mukden High-Voltage Switch Plant. They have
also succeeded in the trial manufacture of the 12-ton class
high intensity suspension type inator that can be used
for 330,000-volt super high-voltage transmission lines. As
to electrical condensors, the new type of condensor using
trichlorobenzene as insulation infusion material has come
into being. Even though actual figures for recent years
have not been published at all, we would not be surprised
to find that the capacity of the new power generating facil-
ities surpasses that of the total of 1963 and 1964.
Rationalization of the Management of
Modern Large Power Plants
On one hand, technology has been improved in the gen-
erating, transmitting, and distributing sectors of China's
power industry, and management has been rationalized. On.
the positive side, the latent potentials of facilities have
been dug up, and a great amount of electric power is being
produced. For instance, at the conference of the directors
of the hydroelectric sector of the nation in 1965, it was
recommended that the experience in the reform of enterprise
management carried out at the Peking Thermoelectric Plant
-- which is one of the main power plants in the Peking-Tang-
shan-Kalgan electrical power network -- be disseminated to
modern large power plants throughout the nation. Its con-
tents consisted of: (1) Administrative structures were
simplified; the nine sections of the entire power plant
were reorganized into five control teams; control was con-
centrated in the higher section, and service was carried
out by the service sub-teams. (2) Branches were abolished,
and the production of the entire power plant was organized
into the two large systems of "power generation operation"
and "facilities maintenance." Under the unified guidance
of the chief and assistant engineers, specialized fuel,
boiler, and generator technicians were assigned. Thus the
specialized control of facilities and operation was strength-
ened, allowing for the solution of important problems and
insuring safe and economical operation. (3) The ranks of
repqir workers were concentrated, and by consolidating more
than 400 inspector-repair personnel, repair team under the
guidance of a higher firm was organized. This repair team
was assigned repair work not only for this power plant but
also for five other power plants in the electric power net-
work, thus saving manpower at the other power plants. (4)
The range of responsibility of each engineering workshop
was re-defined. Thus the limits of too detailed division
of work were broken up and the method of letting one section
taking care of other sections was adopted. (5) After the
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reform of the organizational structure, the regulation sys-
tem concerning finance and material supply was correspond-
ingly improved, and the delivery of materials to work sites
was carried out.
Through the foregoing reforms, the total number of
workers at the power plant was decreased from 1,500 to 760.
Even if the repair team was included, the total number was
decreased by one-third. Yet breakdowns were repaired in
less time than before, and interruptions and accidents were
decreased. And the time needed for boiler ignition, the
starting of the generator, and for increased transmission
and connection was shortened..
The Foreign-type System was Fully Reformed
To
elaborate
this, the Peking Thermoelectric Plant
began its
operation
in 1959. At that time there were com-
paratively
few such
large thermoelectric power plants
throughout
the country. Thus the workers lacked management
experience
and they had to borrow the enterprise management
methods of a certain foreign country. These management
methods played a certain role in safe operation. But many
irrationalities were found in practice. Electric power
generation is extremely complicated, and the relationship
among the fuel, boiler, generator, thermal control meter,
electricity, and chemical processing sectors is extremely
close. The past management methods did not start from the
characteristics of production, but instead from the empha-
sis on "specialized control." Thus one unified production
process was divided into six workshops, and each workshop
was equipped with a certain level of personnel and facili-
ties. Moreover, too many sections were established in one
part of the power plant, which resulted in mutual restraint.
Thus the regulating system was unfavorable to production.
Consequently, the organizational structure as well as per-
sonnel organization became huge. Moreover, the division
of work among sectors was too detailed. The system was
too complicated, and mutual accomodation was bad. This
resulted in many obstacles and problems not being solved
in time, and many persons being engaged in wasteful labor.
Because this power plant is a component part of the Peking-
Tientsin-Tangshan-Ralgan electric power network, certain
specialized work of the plant had to be controlled uniformly
by the control structure of the electric power network --
the Peking Electric Power Company. But the power plant
was operated as a completely independent production unit,
and each specialized sector had. its own organization. There-
fore, large amounts of manpower and materials were wasted.
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The Old Generating, Facilities were
Revived by Technical Reform
At old power plants technical reform has been car-
ried out to remodel old facilities and to improve the gene-
rating capacity and efficiency. The Liao-yuan Power Plant
in Kirin Province, which was established in 1921, remodeled
their old 1930 facilities into comparatively better facili-
ties among the power plants of a similar category, and it
thus became an advanced power plant. It is now lauded as
the "Ta-ch'ing of the electric power sector." At this plant
700-800 grams of coal were used for each KWH. But in the
last decade, the workers at the same power plant carried
out over 200 comparatively large technical reforms. The
capacity of the old facilities surpassed the level of de-
sign, and the facilities were brought up to the most ad-
vanced level among power plants of a similar type through-
out the nation. The amount of coal consumption dropped
to the lowest among plants of a similar type throughout the
nation. The amount of coal saved at the power plant during
the past 16 years has totaled almost 1 million tons. The
coal unloading, coal transportation, coal ash elimination
operations of the power plant have almost been completely
mechanized.
One boiler at the Hsia-kuan Power Plant in Nanking
had some defects and did not fully exert its capacity, thus
adversely affecting the plant's power generating capacity.
The plant remodeled this boiler in the latter half of 1964,
and added appropriate supplementary machine facilities in
order to combine the generating power of the main and sup-
plementary machines. Consequently, the power generating
capacity of this plant was increased in 1965 by 10,000 over
1964.
The rated output of the Number 1 generator at the
Soochow Power Plant is 3,600 17. But when the temperature
of river water rose in summer, cooling became a problem
and output dropped to 3,000 K. This year the workers at
the plant overcame the difficulty of material shortage and
added a condenser to the generator in order to expand the
cooling area, thus allowing the generator to finally pro-
duce its rated output.
490 Million KIIIH was Saved in the Power
Distribution Sector in 1965
In the power generation and distribution sectors of
Shanghai Municipality, electric power was utilized by such
methods as load adjustment, and the consumption of electric
power at the plant was economized. At the same time, trans-
mission losses in various fields were reduced. The total
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amount of electric power used at the plant and the total
amount of power saved through the elimination of transmis-
sion losses by the electric power system in Shanghai during
the period from January-September in 1965 was over 28 mil-
lion KWH.
In the electric power sector in Kiangsu Province the
consumption of electric power at the main plants in such
cities as Nanking, Chin-chiang, Shang-chou, Wustih, and Soo-
chow was clearly defined. By adjusting operation, service,
and the hours of electric power use, a large amount of elec-
tric power was turned over to rural areas. The problem of
limited transmission capacity due to irregularity in the
specifications of leading wires in certain sections of the
high-voltage transmission lines was solved. Larger amounts
of electric power were poured into transmission lines in
excess of the safety coefficient established by the "regu-
lations" of a certain foreign country, and the transferring
of part of Shanghai's electric power to rural areas was
successfully carried out.
The workers in the electric power sector in Manchuria
have achieved safe electrical supply, strengthened line
maintenance and safe operational control of the electric
power network, contributing to the economization of elec-
tricity. As a result of the strengthening of line main-
tenance in 1965, transmission loss was reduced by 0.36%
over the preceding year. This alone saved 27.66 million
KI'T'H.
Each power plant in Shantung Province strove to eco-
nomize electricity. At the Huang-tai Thermal Power Plant
it was discovered that the consumption of electric power
by the small facilities at the plant for one month amounted
to over 500,000 KWH. Thereupon in 1965 these small facili-
ties were reorganized, classified, and measures were taken
to reduce the consumption of electric power for miscellaneous
uses. Consequently, over 3.89 million KHW were saved during
the period from January to September.
Electric power saved in the process of supplying power
during 1965 throughout the country amounted to 490 million
KIVH.
Yhile Thermal Efficiency was Increased
Coal Consumption was Reduced
As was mentioned earlier, the thermal power plants
throughout the nation saved a gross total of 1.6 million
tons of fuel during 1965. The coal consumption for power
generation during 1965 was reduced by 2% compared with 1967.
The thermal efficiency of boilers has approached or reached
international advanced levels.
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In this year also production at power plants across
the country has been better than: ever before, and the con-
sumption of coal and electric power at plants has been dras-
tically reduced. If we combine these together, it is esti-
mated that over 300,000 tons of coal were saved during the
period from January to May 1966. In addition, various power
plants used inferior coal to save over one million tons of
good quality coal for the country, turning it over to steel
and chemical fertilizer industries. This year the workers
at many power plants challenged various obsolete rules and
conservative modes of thinking which hindered increased pro-
duction and economization, and at the same time they adopted
practical organizations and technical measures.
At the Fu-hsin Power Plant, generated power reached
only 90% of full capacity because there were problems in the
manufacturing and designing of three sets of imported ma-
chines. Some workers thought it would be extremely diffi-
cult to improve the power generating capability of the fa-
cilities beyond the present level. But during this year's
movement for increased production and economization the work-
ers corrected their wrong thinking, consolidated their basic
training for operation, examined rules in detail, and found
key points. They repeated their research, made bolt tests,
adopted several effective measures, took out two useless
valves from each set of machinery, raised steam pressure
and steam temperature to the specifications, and raised the
generating power of the facilities to the designed capacity.
Through only this one reform, more than 10,000 tons of coal
were saved for the year. Coupled with other measures, the
coal consumption at the Fu-hsin Power Plant during the first
quarter of 1966 was reduced to 381 grams per KIM, which is
a new record.
At the Yang-shu-p'u Power Plant in Shanghai many work-
ers used to be bound by foreign ways and old habits. They
figured that they had to supply water with three sets of feed
pumps to the high-voltage boiler, otherwise it would affect
safe operation. But this year the workers boldly proposed
to remove one set of feed pumps, and carried out repeated
tests with the support of the factory leadership. As a re-
sult, it was proved that two sets of pumps would completely
satisfy the high-voltage boiler. This measure resulted in
the economization of facilities as well as the economization
of over 10,000 KW1TH per day.
This year the workers at the Huai-nan Power Plant de-
stroyed bourgeois "authorities," obsolete rules, and old sys-
tems to attain great producti^n. The power generation during
June was increased by 7.5% over the average during the period
from January to May, and by 6% over the corresponding period
of 1965; that during July was increased by 8.20. In August,
power generation was increased by 2.18 million 81171, and during
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this month the highest record of power generation per day
was achieved. At the same t1. :the power consumed at the
plant was markedly reduced co ared with that during the
corresponding period of 1965., The coal consumption rate
at the plant reached the advanced level stipulated by the
State, and the cost of power generation was drastically
reduced. At the same time, the same plant is executing the
plan for safe power generation.
The Electrification Method that Economizes
Several Hundred Million K)S1I
Not long ago the Ministry of Water Conservancy and
Hydroelectric Power held a national on-the-spot model op-
eration conference on electrification work at Anshan Muni-
cipality in Liaoning Province. At this conference the great
results of electrification work which had been well dissem-
inated during the past year were fully examined, and exper-
iences pertaining to this were exchanged.
Electrification work methods call for carrying out
inspection and repair of high-voltage lines and facilities.
If this were to be practiced throughout the country, at least
several hundred million additional KWW'H of electric power
could be supplied, and with this much power over ten million
tons of chemical fertilizers or steel could be produced.
Electrification work was initiated in foreign coun-
tries in the 1930's, but only a few nations have adopted it.
In China it was first tested and studied in Manchuria in
1953. In 1957 a series of insulating equipment for electri-
fication of power transmission lines was made. In 1958 the
workers of the Anshan Electric Bureau succeeded in testing
them on lines of comparatively low voltage. Thereafter the
Technical Improvement Bureau of the Northeast Electric Power
Management Bureau succeed in testing the equipotential method
of power transmission on super high-voltage lines. At present
electrification work has been spread to 27 provinces, munici-
palities, and regions throughout the nation. The number of
types of work covered by this has been increased from ten to
160, and the range of voltage is from 10,000 V, 35,000 V,
110,000 V, and 220,000 V. Electrification work can be car-
ried out anywhere, including plateaus, rivers, mountains, the
extremely hot south, and the extremely cold north. The tools
for electrification work are small and light-weight, and can
be tied together so that they can be carried in a knapsack.
Many aspects of electrification work have reached the world's
most advanced level or surpassed it. Some of them are not
known in other countries.
Electrification work is greatly advanced in China, but
the Chinese are further expanding types and range of electri-
fication. In some areas electrification work is added to the
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regular inspection and repair methods. If this is carried-
out, there will be no interruption-of current and the needs
of industrial and agricultural production will be filled.
Some units, after having executed electrification work
throughout the entire electric supply system, are making
studies to change the partially electrified work in the
transformation and distribution systems to entirely electri-
fied work. Electrification work is also being studied for
the power generating system. If tests are successful, it
would have a great impact on the socialist construction of
China.
China entered her Third Five-Year Plan this year, and
she is promoting socialist construction amid the great pro-
letarian cultural revolution. The National Holiday is close
at hand, and many reports of increased production at many
plants are coming in, which gives rise to a very bright out-
look. The electric power industry which supports this indus-
trial production will be assigned a greater duty in the fu-
ture, but this year it will show a development surpassing
41 -4.
6
of 19
5.
Photo Captions:
1. At the Hsin-an-chiang Hydroelectric Power Plant (650 000
1> r'), which was designed and constructed for the first time
by China alone, generators 1-4 (72,500 KW each) began oper-
ation in 1964. Thus the consumption of electric power in
the rural areas of Chekiang Province was increased over 100
times compared with 1957. (C1,4 /1J-y4_y L)
2. This is a demonstration of electrification work by the
workers of the electric power management sector at the Hsin-
an-chiang Hydroelectric Power Plant in Chekiang Province in
east China. :Electrification work which does not interrupt
current and enables the inspection and repair of transmis-
sion lines is helpful to the support of industrial and agri-
cultural production, and it saves a large amount of State
funds. (, C /A llj'q a'y?)
3. The Number 2 generator (75,800 KW) at the Che-hsi. Hydro-
electric Power Plant in Hunan Province began generating in
1965. This plant was designed, constructed, and equipped by
Chinese capability alone. Its total output is over 400 000
KW', and it transmits electricity to neighboring industrial
regions and rural areas in the Tung-t' ing Lake area. ( C / g_fo &S?f
4. Panoramic view of the Che-hsi Hydroelectric Power Plant
in Hunan Province. Its construction was begun in July 1958.
Power generation capacity of its facilities is 435,000 KW9
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and its annual average generation reaches 2.35 billion KWJI.
As of the summer of 1965, Nu hers 1 and 2 generators were
in operation. (c ,,a- o-'gfoj
5. In the suburbs of Shanghai.Municipality transmission
lines are being rapidly expanded, and the area of electric
irrigation is being markedly increased. The photo shows
workers of the Shanghai Electrical Supply Bureau working
on super high-voltage transmiss ion 1 ines.