Chinese cities face power outages as economic rebound, heat put grids under pressure

Name: China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021
Uploaded: 2021-07-20T14:13:48.000Z
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Description: China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021

Power consumption hit an all-time high last week and 11 provinces saw peak-load surges, State Grid says

Some governments are warning of disruptions and taking measures like suspending production

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Residents and businesses in Hangzhou, Zhejiang have been told to prepare for blackouts since the city sources 80 per cent of its power from other regions. Photo: AFP

Echo Xie

Published: 10:13pm, 20 Jul 2021Updated: 11:27pm, 20 Jul 2021

Chinese cities have been warned there could be power outages ahead as the system strains under increased demand from the pandemic recovery and extreme summer heat.

It comes as power consumption hit an all-time high on Wednesday last week – up more than 10 per cent from last summer’s record, according to the State Grid Corporation of China.

Eleven provinces – including manufacturing hubs Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong – saw record peak-load surges last week, the State Grid said on Sunday.

“It’s mainly due to the [hot] weather and the rapid economic growth,” said Zhu Weijiang, deputy director of the State Grid’s National Electric Power Dispatching and Control Centre.

China was the first major economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, recording 12.7 per cent growth in the first half of 2021 from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That growth was partly driven by strong export demand – exports in dollar terms rose 32.2 per cent in June from a year ago, after they jumped 27.9 per cent in May.

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China’s economy rose 7.9 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2021

But the economic rebound, combined with soaring temperatures, is putting China’s power grids under pressure. Some governments have warned there could be disruptions, with some taking measures like rationing power and suspending production in a bid to avoid outages.