China's economy remains stable and far-reaching
A piece of coal's "guaranteed supply" journey
In January in Changzi County, Shanxi, the average temperature had already dropped below zero degrees Celsius.
But at a depth of more than 500 meters underground, it is a boiling scene.
At 11 o'clock in the morning, after washing and evaporating water vapor, pieces of electric coal were extracted from the 3803 coal mining face (located at 530 meters underground in Changzi County) of the Horsingh Coal Mine, and shipped on the Horsingh special line.
In about a day, the coal will be transported to Henan Province, which is more than 200 kilometers away, and will be used to ensure the coal reserves for power generation and heating for two key local guaranteed supply targets.
In the past three months, as an important mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group's Shanxi Coal International, hundreds of thousands of tons of guaranteed coal have been shipped from the Horsingh Coal Mine.
In March 2021, the rising channel of coal prices will open, breaking through the thousand yuan/ton mark in September, and exceeding 2,000 yuan per ton in October.
High coal prices once led to power cuts in some provinces, affecting local production and life.
In accordance with the national supply guarantee requirements, Shanxi, a major coal province, undertakes the task of guaranteeing the supply of 53 million tons of coal in 14 provinces across the country. To this end, 104 coal mines in the province have carried out an increase in production capacity. Together with the rapid release of coal production capacity in major producing areas such as Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, After that, the spot price of coal futures fell sharply.
my country is the world's largest coal producer and consumer.
In the retained energy reserves, coal accounts for about 89%, oil accounts for about 4%, and natural gas accounts for about 7%.
The resource endowment of "rich coal, poor oil, and little gas" determines that the energy structure is dominated by coal. Coal, as the main energy source, will not change in the next period of time, and plays an important role in the national energy supply.
The Central Economic Work Conference held a few days ago proposed that based on the basic national conditions of coal-based, we should focus on the clean and efficient utilization of coal, increase the consumption capacity of new energy, and promote the optimal combination of coal and new energy.
In this regard, the relevant personnel of the Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission said that they will "anchor the 'two-carbon' goal unswervingly, and gather momentum to accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading."
Pieces of coal are starting from Shanxi, bringing warmth and light to thousands of households in the cold winter.
Guarantee priority
Although it takes a few minutes to reach the bottom of the well by taking the roaring cage, it is necessary to take a trackless rubber wheel car from the well, get off after half an hour, and then walk a few hundred meters in the roadway, a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily. Finally came to the fully mechanized mining face 500 meters underground in the Holsingh Coal Mine.
The whole process from the shivering chill I felt when I first entered the mine to the panting at the fully mechanized mining face took more than 30 minutes, which was considered fast.
In fact, in addition to the 8 hours on duty when the miner goes down the well, plus the time for the pre-work meeting, the process of going down and down the well, and the time for changing clothes and bathing after the well is raised, it basically takes more than 10 hours.
With an order, the drum of the comprehensive shearer started to rotate, and soon sank into the coal seam, making a loud noise.
Some larger coal lumps were thrown up by the cutting wheel, and more coal was broken into small pieces, fell onto the scraper conveyor, transferred to the belt conveyor, and began to flow toward the ground.
At 3:00 p.m. on January 16, Chen Shuai, the 34-year-old captain and production technician of the fully mechanized mining team of Holsinghe Coal Mine, took more than 120 miners to work in the middle of the mine.
After a shift, he has to go back and forth to patrol the line a dozen times in the well, walking seven or eight kilometers back and forth.
The coal mined here will be sent to Henan and other places through special transportation lines such as railways after washing and selecting, plus the corresponding transportation costs.
For the hard task of 53 million tons, Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shanxi Coking Coal"), one of the "double aircraft carriers" of Shanxi Energy, has undertaken the task of ensuring the supply of 5.5 million tons of thermal coal: 5 million tons in Henan Province and 500,000 tons in Liaoning Province. Ton.
In November last year, 1.274 million tons of thermal coal were delivered, with a cash rate of 78% that month.
Among them, the annual production capacity of Horsinghe Coal Mine is 4 million tons, and it has claimed a supply guarantee task of 462,750 tons. The main objects of guarantee supply are State Power Investment Group Henan Electric Power Co., Ltd., Datang Gongyi Power Generation Co., Ltd., and Wuxiang Xishan Power Generation Co., Ltd. companies and local heating companies.
For months, Chen Shuai's mine, which produces high-quality coal for power, has been working around the clock.
"We have adjusted the sales structure, and all coal will be sent to customers with priority. When the transportation line is tight, priority will be given to the supply line." Liu Qi, deputy general manager of Shanxi Coking Coal Shanxi Coal International, said that, like many coal mines across the country, completing the task of ensuring supply is Top priority here.
"Making coal but not coal"
The underground is in full swing, but there are not many people in the well.
The roar of machines was hardly heard here, nor were the piles of coal to be seen.
Li Jiangong, chairman of Holsinghe Coal Mine, told China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that the current coal mine has achieved closed-loop management from production to transportation, and the improvement of technology has made "coal production without coal" the norm.
In the office building next to the mine, the underground comprehensive excavation team is having a pre-shift meeting.
The dispatch command center of the coal mine can integrate the information of some key equipment on the ground and underground in real time, and implement visual supervision.
When Chen Shuai and the others are underground, they can connect with the engineer team on the ground in real time to solve difficult problems.
Through the AR glasses diagnosis system, the downhole picture can be accurately transmitted to the surface.
According to public reports, 154 similar intelligent mining faces have been built in Shanxi, a major coal province, with advanced production capacity accounting for 68%.
The coal mine's express train loading station is the only place where the coal can be seen. At the touch of a button, the clean coal with antifreeze and dustproof agent is neatly loaded into the trains.
As the end of the year is approaching, Chen Shuai said that he came to work in the coal mine in 2008, when he was in his early 20s.
After starting work, he could not remember how many New Year's Eves he spent underground.
According to the current schedule, he may still spend New Year's Eve in the well with his brothers this year.
"Every day, the mine will bring you steaming dumplings."
Thermal coal inventory for 21 days
The reporter left the Horsingh Coal Mine all the way north and arrived at Taiyuan City, which is more than 200 kilometers away.
This is also the "main position" of Shanxi Coal Shipping.
The thermal coal is produced from the three coal mines of Guandi, Duerping and Ximing of Xishan Coal and Electricity Group, and then arrives at Yumengou Station of Taiyuan North Railway Station via the special railway line.
Here, according to the whereabouts of thermal coal, the trains are regrouped and transported to more than 10 stations of Zhengzhou Bureau and Wuhan Bureau through Taiyuan North Railway Hub.
As one of the "arteries" of coal transportation in Shanxi, Taiyuan North Railway Station Yumengou Station is mainly responsible for the coal transportation of the above coal mines.
At present, there are 6 coal trains running from the station to power plants in various places every day.
"We give priority to examining and approving tasks related to supply guarantee, and we load 297 vehicles every day." Ma Jie, deputy head of Yumengou Station, said that since taking over the task of supply guarantee, Yumengou Station has established a coal transportation team to keep an eye on it. The loading progress, assist in reporting the loading needs, and arrange the pickup and delivery of trucks in a timely manner according to the actual situation.
Up to now, Taiyuan North Railway Station has loaded 197,440 electric coal vehicles and more than 13 million tons in the whole year.
During this time, Wu Xuezhong, the head of Yumengou Station, has been at the transportation site, repeatedly emphasizing safety production and team division of labor, "to ensure quality and quantity in every day's solid work."
At present, the country's advanced coal production capacity is still being released.
According to data from the Shanxi Provincial Energy Administration, as of December 28, 2021, Shanxi has completed the nuclear increase of 49 coal mines, with a net increase of 56.8 million tons per year, which has been used for 14 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) such as Guangdong, Fujian and Liaoning. The supply of thermal coal was 41.06 million tons, basically completing the task of ensuring supply in the fourth quarter of the year.
It is worth noting that, as the "stabilizer" and "ballast stone" of the market, the medium and long-term coal contract system in 2022 is being further improved.
At the 2022 National Coal Trade Fair held not long ago, coal production enterprises from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places signed medium and long-term contracts with some large domestic power generation, steel and heating enterprises, and the first batch of contracts exceeded 260 million tons. , will further stabilize price expectations, promote the orderly return of the market, and ensure a safe and stable supply of coal.
According to data from the National Development and Reform Commission, since December 7 last year, the coal storage in power plants under unified control across the country has remained above 160 million tons.
On January 12, the thermal coal inventory exceeded 162 million tons, which can be used for 21 days, 40 million tons higher than the same period last year, laying a solid foundation for ensuring a stable supply of coal and a warm winter for the people.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Hu Zhizhong Source: China Youth Daily