Remember when China was criticised for burning too much coal?

China's Power Shortfalls Begin to Ripple Around the World
Electricity crunch adds to a global energy squeeze that risks upsetting the post-pandemic economic recovery
published : 4 Oct 2021 at 04:30
writer: Stella Yifan Xie & Sha Hua & Chuin-Wei Yap

China is struggling with widespread power shortfalls, dealing a blow to the recovery of the second-largest economy and risking disruption to global supply chains and heightened inflationary pressure around the world.

The power crunch, on a scale unseen in more than a decade, highlights how some of Beijing's changing policy priorities, including its effort to limit carbon emissions, can ripple through a global economy that has been reshaped by the pandemic.

"There'll be a cascading effect," said Mike Beckham, Oklahoma-based co-founder and CEO of Simple Modern, which makes products such as insulated water bottles and backpacks. "As we started to comprehend the ramifications of what's happening, we realized that this is potentially bigger than anything we've seen in our business careers."

Two weeks ago, one of Mr. Beckham's main suppliers, based in Quzhou city in eastern China, was told by the local government that it could only operate four days a week, instead of the usual six. In addition, it must adhere to a power-usage cap, which cuts the capacity of the factory by about one-third as a result.

Mr. Beckham anticipates U.S. retail prices for many products could increase by as much as 15% next spring, as appetite from retailers stays strong.

The shortages reflect a combination of factors. Coal prices have surged because of a shortage of domestic coal supplies, made worse by import cuts from Australia and Mongolia. That has prompted power stations to reduce output to avoid losses because of official caps on their selling prices.

Meanwhile, from the top, Beijing is seeking to enforce energy-efficiency targets, leading to officially sanctioned reductions in energy usage by some industries.

At the same time, demand for electricity has soared since the end in April 2020 of China's pandemic-induced shutdown, as factories increased production to meet rising consumer demand in the West.

The power crunch in China adds to a global energy squeeze that risks upsetting the post-pandemic recovery.

Surging demand, swings in the weather and lackluster production have driven up natural-gas prices. The surge has hit output at European factories and household energy bills. It is also fueling anxiety in Europe and the U.S. over whether dwindling supply will be sufficient to power economies through the winter.
In full: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/21 ... -the-world

Chinese border railway port boosts coal imports amid power shortage
Source: Xinhua| 2021-10-10 18:42
HARBIN, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- A railway port on the China-Russia border has boosted coal imports to meet the rising demand from power producers and heating suppliers in north China.

The railway port of Suifenhe, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, saw 36,600 tonnes of coal imported from Russia during the National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7.

The daily average volume of coal imports reached more than 5,000 tonnes, up 20.9 percent compared with the average level in the first three quarters of this year, according to the Suifenhe railway station.

The station has optimized the process of imported cargo transportation, such as loading and unloading operations, to improve transportation efficiency.

Dust suppression measures have also been adopted to protect the environment during transportation.

Thermal power still takes up a large share of China's energy output, accounting for about 70 percent of its power generation. The upcoming heating season has added pressure to the power supply in north China.

The country is making all-out efforts to ensure the nation's power supply after power outages halted factory production and hit families in some regions. ■