2006-04-26 17:16
 
China's Yangtze Power Co. Ltd. said on Wednesday its first-quarter earnings rose 18 percent, buoyed by higher electricity prices and an 8.85 percent increase in power generation.

The company benefited from higher water levels that allowed increased generation at the Three Gorges Dam, which it shares with its state-owned parent, China Three Gorges Project Corp.

Yangtze River's water levels were normally highest from April through October, the company said.

Yangtze Power's first-quarter profits rose 18 percent to 404.4 million yuan($50.43 million), while revenues rose 23 percent to 1.07 billion yuan.

Total generation at the Three Gorges Dam reached 7.883 million megawatt-hours(MWh) in the first quarter, with Yangtze Power's share rising 10.43 percent to 3.378 million MWh.

Output at its wholly-owned Gezhouba Dam rose 6.69 percent to 2.392 MWh.

Yangtze Power is impervious to the soaring prices of coal and oil that spurred China to raise electricity prices last year.

Reforms that allowed higher coal prices to be passed through to electricity prices helped rival Huaneng Power International Inc. earn 39 percent more in the first quarter of 2006 than a year earlier.

Yangtze Power's yuan-denominated A shares, open to select foreign investors, had edged up 0.46 percent to 6.51 yuan a share by 0224 GMT on Wednesday, underperforming a 1.16 percent rise in the broader market<.SSEC>. (Reuters)
source:Reuters
tag:Hydropower,clean energy,China electricity