Rare bright spot for gas in China’s power mix at risk

Bloomberg

One of the few bright spots in China’s coal-dominated power mix for cleaner-burning natural gas is at risk after a proposed tariff cut.
The southern province of Guangdong is mulling a 5-12% cut in the rates gas-fuelled generators can charge, according to a report on a website run by China Southern Power Grid Co, referencing an unpublished policy consulting paper from the Guangdong Development and Reform Commission. The hike could be enough to idle some marginal power plants that had been feasting on cheap gas imports.
Guangdong is one of the few Chinese provinces with enough gas-fired generation to create price competition with coal, which dominates the country’s power sector. Similar competition in Europe and the US has seen cheap gas eat away at coal’s market share, helping reduce pollution and carbon emissions along the way.