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 unprofitable to keep operating, thanks also to government-imposed caps on the electricity prices they could charge.
Other factors, including the power consumption reduction targets different provinces are pursuing and instability in renewable energy supplies, have contributed to the crunch.
The disruption may continue for months, with the effects becoming more severe as China enters the winter season. How Beijing decides to respond could have lasting implications for China’s energy suppl
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