Gas heat project making a difference in Lhasa

Thanks to a heating project in Lhasa, in the Tibet autonomous region, more than 100,000 city households are now equipped with gas facilities, and the coverage of gas heat in Lhasa will exceed 98 percent by the end of the year, governmental authorities said on Friday.

Launched at the end of 2012, the project expanded rapidly. Many residents of Lhasa now find that their winter evenings no longer feel so cold or seem so long.

"The Lhasa heating project has made a historical transition from traditional heating methods to modern clean-energy heating," said Ma Hongjing, professor and senior engineer of the North China Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute.

Ma said that traditional heating methods such as stoves and electrical tools adversely affect the environment and waste natural resources. The new heating system will help to cut emissions and reduce logging, Ma said.

Pema Norbu is a resident of the Lhasa community that was first to benefit from the heating project. Her mother has been suffering from a severe illness for many years requiring her, for the most part, to stay indoors to keep warm.

The improvement was pronounced.

One cold winter day in 2012, when Pema Norbu and her mother were having a conversation, her mother noticed the temperature.

"It is already later winter," she said. "It's strange that it's still very warm."

It wasn't climate change; it was gas heat.

Pema Norbu said that before they were provided with the system, they used electricity for heat, which she said is not good because it may cause trouble - variable quality, risk of fire and lost humidity in the house.

"We are thankful for the project, and we can afford the price, but my parents did not support using the gas heating at first because they thought it was expensive. Gradually they realized they couldn't live without it," the 36-year-old said.

Like Pema Norbu, Tsomo, a doctor at the Second Hospital of Tibet, thinks gas heating has raised her quality of life - and she considers health a priority.

"Gas heating is better as it is natural and creates less pollution. Using facilities such as the air conditioner may affect health. Gas is safer," Tsomo said.

Officials have seen the benefits of gas heating to residents in general.

"The residents of Lhasa, besides having warm sunshine during the daytime, can enjoy warm evenings," said Zeyong, the vice-general manager of Lhasa Nuanxin Heating Power Co. All primary and high schools will receive heating free of charge.

"The heating project of Lhasa is unprecedented in China, as it achieved 98 percent coverage within 28 months," said Hu Bijun, senior engineer of the China Building Materials Academy.

Lhasa has seen significant reductions in emissions in 2014. The total emission of carbon dioxide has been reduced by around 180,000 tons; sulfur dioxide by 1,652 tons; nitrogen oxide by 510 tons; soot emissions by 2,544 tons; and cinders by 13,900 tons.