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Snow storm causes gas cuts in Wuhan

2009-11-16 11:13 BJT

Snow storms in Hubei's provincial capital, Wuhan, have caused massive cuts to the city's natural gas supply. Supplying the gas to residents has become the top priority.

Dozens of buses wait in line for natural gas at this petrol station located in Wuchang, Hubei province. Another 500 taxis are also in line.

One taxi driver said "All the petrol stations in Wuchang have stopped business. Only here is business still operating."

One taxi driver said "I waited for eight hours yesterday."

The gas shortage has tested the patience of those who depend on the fuel most.

One taxi driver said "I have no choice but to wait."

The petrol station said that three of its parent station's four compressors that produce natural gas have broken.

This forced some taxi drivers to switch to petrol and bear the extra cost.

One taxi driver said "It costs us 80 yuan a day to run on natural gas. But it costs us 160 yuan a day to run on petrol."

Petrol stations are not the only ones suffering from the gas shortage. Residents have also been forced to make changes to their daily routines.

Mr. Hong, one resident said "Now, I have to use an induction cooker."

Wuhan has about 900-thousand users of natural gas. The average daily consumption volume is 2.2 million cubic meters. The Wuhan Natural Gas Company stressed residential gas supply remained its top priority.

Yu Guohua, Spokesman of Wuhan Natural Gas Company said "The entire industrial-purpose natural gas supply has been stopped. Commercial-purpose gas has been almost stopped. All measures taken aim to ensure the gas supply for residents."

One of these measures has been cutting all natural gas at petrol stations in Wuhan. Each taxi driver will get a subsidy of 100 yuan a day.

Editor: Xiong Qu | Source: CCTV.com