Climate Crisis Forces China To Ration Electricity

Provinces in China are being forced to reduce power consumption as forest fires, droughts, and heatwaves ravage the country. The Guardian reports: here were still some streetlights on the Bund, one of the main roads in central Shanghai. But the decorative lights which light up the city skyline -- blue, pink, and red -- were turned off for two days to cope with the peaking power demand. The power restriction imposed by the city authorities, was the first in Shanghai, the financial hub of China. But across the rest of the country similar restrictions have been put in place, as cities, notably in the south-western region, grapple with ongoing power shortages caused by devastating droughts this summer. In Sichuan, a top-level energy emergency alert was issued to address the province's power shortages, a first in the province's history: the alert means that residents will be given priority for power supplies. Sichaun is known for its abundant hydro energy, which provides 80% of its power, and is a vital link in China's extensive West-to-East Electricity Transfer Project. But the area has been hit by record-breaking high temperatures, unseen in 60 years. With water in the region's rivers dropping to historical lows, hydropower plants are only producing half the energy they were generating this time last year. Sichuan had already imposed rolling blackouts across factories, and international companies have had to halt production, while the coal-fired plants are all at full stretch. But even so, cities around Sichuan are struggling to meet surging power demands from residential communities, with people's daily lives being heavily affected. In Dazhou, residents in one community complain that power supplies have been cut for 6-7 hours each day for nearly a week, leaving many flocking to a nearby bridge in the evening to beat the sweltering summer heat, according to Jiupai News. Private business owners are also hit hard as power supplies are rationed among communities and shopping malls. Business activities and supply chains are being hit in various ways. "The price of commodities such as silicon metal has risen due to the power restrictions, and there are growing concerns about a shortage of automobile parts in Shanghai for companies including the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Tesla," reports The Guardian.

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