China power crisis: Guangdong raising electricity prices for industrial users by 25 per cent in peak hours

Name: Chinese manufacturing thrown into disarray as country's electricity crisis rolls on
Uploaded: 2021-09-30T14:30:17.000Z
Duration: 4 min 1 s
Description: Chinese manufacturing thrown into disarray as country's electricity crisis rolls on

Move by southern manufacturing hub could trigger other provinces to raise power prices in the coming weeks, but households and non-industrial businesses may stay exempt

Coal shortage and attempts to meet carbon emissions targets have resulted in power-rationing measures being imposed in most of China’s provincial jurisdictions

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Guangdong’s industrial sector – much of which is highly automated – must pay more for electricity during peak hours amid a national power crisis. Photo: Iris Ouyang

Amanda Leein Beijing

Published: 10:30pm, 30 Sep 2021Updated: 8:58am, 1 Oct 2021

As a power crisis continues to pummel China, its southern manufacturing hub of Guangdong province is raising electricity prices as much as 25 per cent during peak-demand hours, starting Friday.

The price hike, however, applies only to industrial users, rather than households, according to Tao Feida, deputy general manager at the customer service centre of China Southern Power Grid, who spoke with state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday.

Peak hours are from 11am-noon and 3pm-5pm – a total of three hours every day.

Cheng Renli, deputy general manager at China Southern Power Grid’s control centre in Shenzhen, also advocated in the CCTV report for enterprises to use power during off-peak hours to avoid a decline in productivity.

Higher electricity prices may help offset the power-supply shortage, as the record-high cost of thermal coal has cut into the profitability of power companies, making them unwilling to generate electricity while prices remain capped at state-regulated rates.

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Chinese manufacturing thrown into disarray as country's electricity crisis rolls on

As part of Beijing’s so-called planned economy, provinces are allowed to raise or lower electricity prices by as much as 10 per cent, and several provinces have already added the maximum 10 per cent. Lifting electricity rates beyond that is uncommon, potentially contentious, and involves sensitive negotiations between provincial governments and Beijing.