Coal consumption in the South and East of China will reach 880 million mt/year by 2015, up by about 300 million mt from the current level, according to a consultancy report Friday.
Most of the increase in consumption will be met by imports, Beijing-based Dexin Yongming Consultation said in its report citing figures from the energy research unit under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Additionally, imports of LNG will also be encouraged.
But the government will not throw its weight behind long-distance extra-high-voltage power transmission, Mao Xinling, an analyst with Dexin Yongming said.
Meanwhile, to ease coal railing bottlenecks, the central government will seek to stop large amounts of coal transportation from western and northwestern regions to eastern and southeastern regions in the long run.
China is set to maintain a high level of coal imports in the foreseeable future, a Beijing-based coal shipping and trading company executive said.
"The cancellation of the import duty on brown coal from January 1, 2012 onwards has confirmed the central government's commitment to encourage coal imports," he said.
In the first three quarters of 2012, China consumed 3.02 billion mt of coal, up 2.8% year on year, as Platts reported on November 2.
This will annualize at 4.03 billion mt for 2012.
For comparison, China's national coal output will be kept at about 3.9 billion mt/year in 2015, according to the five-year development plan for the coal industry released by the National Energy Administration in March.
