(Chutian Metropolis Daily) (Yang Lei, Xiong Xingxing) The standing committee meeting of the Wuhan municipal government held yesterday decided that taxi gas refilling will resume in Wuhan at midnight today. It was also decided to build a natural gas storage station as soon as possible, aiming for it to be operational by next summer, to alleviate the gas shortage.
Starting from 8 PM yesterday, several natural gas refueling stations in Wuhan had their transport tankers waiting at the mother station, ready to load and deliver gas to the refueling stations distributed across the three towns. However, responsible persons from gas station operators such as Jiangzhuan, Dalong, and Zhongneng indicated that although they received notice of resuming supply, they couldn't guarantee whether they would receive sufficient gas sources or if the supply on the day would run smoothly.
It is reported that when the cold wave hit Wuhan this winter, the residential gas consumption kept increasing. At that time, both vehicle gas and industrial-commercial gas were completely shut down, unable to meet the demand. In recent days, with the temperature rising and the reduction in residential gas consumption, space has been made available for the resumption of vehicle gas supply. Industry insiders are concerned that if the weather turns cold again, there may be another disruption in supply.
To ease the potential ongoing gas shortage, Wuhan has decided that during this winter and next spring, the city will stop promoting the use of wall-hung boilers for heating among residents. For those who have already installed and are using natural gas heating equipment, a planned rationing system will be implemented.
Yesterday's standing committee meeting of the Wuhan Municipal Government also confirmed that construction on the Anshan Natural Gas Storage and Vaporization Station in Jiangxia District will begin before the Spring Festival. This station reportedly has a storage capacity of 20 million cubic meters, which can ensure emergency gas supply for Wuhan for 10 days. Wuhan currently does not have a natural gas storage station, so once the upstream gas supply becomes tight, it immediately faces a gas shortage.