China energy: Sichuan looks to coal as hydro dams run low, but ‘insufficient’ to alleviate power crunch

Name: Shanghai turns off decorative lights on the Bund to save power
Uploaded: 2022-08-22T12:00:26.000Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: Shanghai turns off decorative lights on the Bund to save power

Western provinces including Shaanxi, Gansu and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have fast-tracked coal shipments to Sichuan in August

But support for coal-fired power plants alone will not solve Sichuan’s electricity shortages because the province relies on hydropower, analysts say

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02:13

Shanghai turns off decorative lights on the Bund to save power

Zhao Ziwen

Published: 8:00pm, 22 Aug 2022Updated: 9:33am, 23 Aug 2022

China’s southwestern manufacturing hub Sichuan has stepped up coal purchases from neighbouring provinces to fortify its energy supply, but analysts say it will have only limited effect in alleviating a drought-fuelled power crisis.

Western provinces including Shaanxi, Gansu and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have fast-tracked coal exports to Sichuan and Chongqing since August, China Energy Investment, a state-owned mining and energy company, said last Thursday.

The company said it had made its best effort to meet coal demand from the two regional economic powerhouses, shipping 190,000 tonnes of the fossil fuel – up 89.6 per cent year on year – between August 1-17.

Sichuan and a number of other southern manufacturing hubs have imposed power restrictions across different industries to deal with surging demand in recent weeks, especially for air conditioning amid a record summer heatwave. Shanghai, which has also been hit by the extreme weather, will on Monday dim the lights on its mile-long (1.6093km) stretch of waterfront promenade known as the Bund to save power.

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China issues first national drought alert of the year amid record heatwave

But support for coal-fired power plants alone will be “insufficient” to deal with Sichuan’s problem, because thermal power makes up a small part of its energy mix, said Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

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