SHANGHAI, Sep 11 (SMM) – Hebei province raised electrical fees, up by 0.1 yuan/kWh, for companies that failed to meet national ultra-low emission standards within specified periods, according to a notice issued by the provincial authorities on Thursday September 6.
The requirement covers industries such as iron and steel, coking, cement, and glass. It will be lifted once the companies meet emission standards and pass checks by local authorities, SMM learned.
Although most steel mills in Hebei have not completed rectifications to meet emission standards, higher electricity charges will have minimal impact on their production, SMM research found.
Some state-owned mills told SMM that, though higher electrical costs will translate to higher prices of crude steel production, such costs are offset by curent high profit margins.
Over 60% of steel companies use electricity from self-owned power plants, and this further cushions the impact of higher electrical fees.
The ultra-low emissions in the steel industry require that, for sintering machines and pellet furnaces with fume emissions that contain 16% oxygen, the hourly average emission concentration of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides should not exceed 10 mg/m³, 35 mg/m³, and 50 mg/m³ respectively.
For emission from sources other than sintering machines and pellet furnaces, emission standards for the three pollutants should not exceed 10 mg/m³, 50 mg/m³, and 150 mg/m³ respectively.
