Power curbs extended in parts of China as extreme weather lingers

SHANGHAI • The authorities in China's scorched south-western regions have extended curbs on power consumption as they grapple with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand during a long drought and heatwave.

State weather forecasters issued a heat "red alert" for the 11th consecutive day yesterday, as extreme weather continues to play havoc with power supplies and damage crops. They also raised the national drought alert to "orange" - the second-highest level.

The drought has already "severely affected" mid-season rice and summer corn in some southern regions, the ministry of agriculture said on Sunday.

The National Meteorological Centre said as many as 62 weather stations - from Sichuan in the south-west to Fujian on the south-eastern coast - recorded record temperatures on Sunday. The situation could improve from tomorrow as a cold front moves into China via Xinjiang.

The region of Chongqing, which hit temperatures of 45 deg C late last week, announced that opening hours at more than 500 malls and other commercial venues would be shortened starting yesterday to ease power demand.

Two malls on the list contacted by Reuters confirmed that they had received the government notice and would abide by the new opening hours. Two hotels on the list said they were still operating normally but were restricting use of air-conditioners.

In neighbouring Sichuan province, a major hydropower generator, authorities also extended existing curbs on industrial power consumers until Thursday, financial news service Caixin said on Sunday. Power generation in Sichuan is at just half the normal level.

It cited firms in the battery industry as saying that industrial power users in the cities of Yibin and Suining had been told to remain closed until Thursday.

A Sichuan-based pesticide producer, Lier Chemical, confirmed in a notice yesterday that output restrictions at two of its production bases in the province would continue until Thursday.

Toyota Motor gradually resumed operations at its Sichuan plant in China yesterday using a power generator after suspending operations last week, according to the company's spokesman.

Other regions have sent 50 emergency power generating vehicles to Sichuan since last Thursday to help alleviate shortages, the Global Times newspaper said.

Several plants in Sichuan and Chongqing, including those of top battery maker CATL and electric vehicle giant BYD, have been only able to partially operate in recent weeks because of power shortages.

A source familiar with the matter said that CATL's Yibin plant makes battery cells for Tesla, and there were concerns that continued disruptions could eventually affect the US electric car manufacturer.

However, a second source said there was no sign of an impact so far, with production at Tesla's Shanghai plant unchanged.

CATL and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Shanghai, which has been criticised on China's Twitter-like Weibo service for its use of electricity generated in Sichuan, imposed its own consumption restrictions yesterday, turning off decorative lighting in the riverside Bund area and parts of the financial centre of Lujiazui for two days.

Companies will be encouraged to "stagger" power consumption to reduce peak loads. Some outdoor construction projects will be suspended, the official Shanghai Daily said.

Important agricultural regions have also been warning of the impact on crops, with Henan province saying that more than a million hectares of land have been affected by drought so far.

About 2.2 million hectares across the Yangtze basin have been affected, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

REUTERS