Our infographics look at the reasons behind the shortage as well as its global implications.
Empty coal cars in Zhengzhou North Railway Station, 2019. Credit: Windmemories/Wikimedia Commons
China’s generators are struggling to keep the country’s lights on. More than half of the country’s provinces are now rationing electricity, disrupting the daily lives of tens of millions and threatening further disruption for stretched global supply chains.
The main problem hasn’t been a shortage of power generating capacity, but rather the soaring price of coal, on which China remains overwhelmingly reliant for energy. As prices have risen, power generators have found it unprof
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