21:46, 07-Dec-2017
Fighting Air Pollution: Households in Shanxi Province turn to coal after gas supply delayed
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And Linfen is just one of the many cities across northern China experiencing difficulties during the government's shift from coal to gas. Some households have started complaining about project delays. Let's take a look.
Some households in Linfen city in North China's Shanxi Province have started burning coal again, despite a recent ban against the practice. Villager Zhang Maixiang says problems with the community's heating supply has made it dangerously cold inside her home.
ZHANG MAIXIANG LINFEN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE "The elderly people can't stand the cold. They've started burning coal leftover from last year."
Residents began tearing down their coal boilers back in June, and started preparing for a new communal heating system. But the project is running behind schedule, and tens of thousands of residents now have no heat in their homes.
VILLAGER LINFEN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE "We have elderly people and children at home. It's so cold right now. And we can only use a plug-in heater. But it doesn't produce enough heat."
Linfen used to have a serious air pollution problem. The Environmental Protection Ministry has even criticized the city's inefficient use of coal.
In recent years, the city has been making efforts to improve the local environment. This year, Linfen invested 50 million yuan to replace coal boilers with modern gas heating plants, and implemented a ban on coal.
Local authorities blame a lack of resources on the project's delay.
WANG HONGSUO CLEAN HEATING PROJECT CHIEF "We're trying to finish the clean heating project ahead of schedule. But we found the workload is quite challenging and now we're facing a shortage of workers and construction materials. We feel sorry for the inconvenience that we brought to the villagers."
The project's chief says the government has provided heating equipment and subsidies to help villagers cover higher electricity costs. And he has promised to supply modern gas heating by December 5th.