Analysts say the power shortage could knock 0.2% to 0.5% off GDP growth this quarter.
Poor rains have hit hydroelectricity production and made the power shortage even worse this year.
To ensure the reliability of the electric grid after that date, TXU is planning on building 1500 megawatts of wind generation and is considering building multiple nuclear facilities, though these would not come on line by 2015 at the earliest--too late to resolve the looming power shortage.
The threat of a power shortage in the country, and thus a curtailment of electricity needed for mining that tends to occur far under the ground, has been an ongoing issue for a few years now.
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The fact that there is any power shortage this year after all the railroad building and power plant construction since 2004 undercuts the message that China is reforming its economy and seeking to rebalance it.
Meanwhile, Tohoku Electric Power covers the northern region of Japan and it said its power shortage would depend on how quickly the region and its industries can be rebuilt.
The agency that operates the state power grid cited colder than usual weather, maintenance problems and a power shortage across the Northwest.
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At one presser that was delayed because of a power shortage, the always vibrant M.
The Panamanian government has ordered schools to close and government offices to reduce their opening hours as the country suffers from a power shortage.
The Colombians have an acute shortage of helicopters and air power, and it is hoped the new aircraft will help them build on the military successes against the rebels that the army achieved in the second half of last year, partly thanks to the use of air power.
Politicians and bureaucrats also worry about what would happen if supplying countries refuse to sell Japan the electricity when there is a power shortage.
But then came July, when Mirant, Reliant Energy, Duke Energy, Dynegy and others took heat for their possible role in creating an artificial shortage during the 2001 electric power crisis.
That way grid operators could, say, automatically lower the cost of transmitting power from a region with excess to capacity to one with a shortage, instead of letting the problem fester until the peaker plants turn on and phone calls and faxes fly.
And, with a power shortage blacking out large parts of the country for two hours each day and unemployment rising sharply, there are plenty of other things to think about.
Backup generators fill the power gap, but the Japan Data Center Council recently warned that reliance on generators is causing a diesel fuel shortage.
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Nadeem Babar is addressing Pakistan's severe power shortage right where it's needed the most: in the wheat and cotton fields and the textile factories spread across the vital Punjab province.
An area of little doubt: The next few weeks will bring more difficulties to areas untouched by the earthquake and tsunami as the electric utility Tepco institutes rolling blackouts in the Kanto region around Tokyo to cope with a shortage of power.
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Mr. Srivastava said apart from production issues, there are also significant difficulties in moving coal from mines to power stations due to a shortage of rail wagons for hauling the dry fuel.
India is facing a shortage of coal, which is widely blamed for frequent power outages in the country.
Ever since it bombed the Taliban from power in 2001, America has relied on air power in Afghanistan to make up for a shortage of troops.
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