A look at China’s electricity grid: how it works, who foots the bill, and how its structure leads to power crunches and expensive prices despite the relative abundance of energy in China.
Chinese workers at the construction site of the Ximeng-Taizhou ±800kV UHVDC (high voltage direct current) Project in Taizhou city, Jiangsu Province, May 1, 2017. Credit: Imaginechina via AP Images
The cost of electricity is rising for consumers around the world. China isn’t facing the kind of dire energy crunch faced by many consumers in Europe, but recurring power outages since last year are a reminder that it has electricity problems of its own.
Data: State Grid annual reports
The weaknesses in China’s electricity grid predate the global energy shortage stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With climate change and pressure growing on China to clean up its energy act, things may get worse.
This week, The Wire looks at China’s electricity grid: how it works, who foots the bill, and how its structure leads to power crunches and expensive prices despite the relative abundance of energy in China.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
The problem with China’s electricity grid isn’t one of production, but distribution. Where China’s electricity is generated and where it is most needed are not the same, thanks to a combination of geographic fac
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