China heatwave: Sichuan warns of ‘particularly severe’ power shortages as heatwave and drought continue
- Authorities in the province, a major hydro power producer, warn it is facing a ‘grave situation’ as a result of scorching heat and a prolonged drought
- Power supplies to factories have been stopped to protect domestic users and sources say a planned resumption appears to have postponed in some areas
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The southwestern province is one of China’s biggest hydropower producers, but the provincial government warned on Sunday that it was facing a “grave situation” of record temperatures, low rainfall and unprecedented demand for electricity.
“There are severe power shortages because of the extreme high temperature disaster and the drought,” a statement from the authorities said.
The warning of “particularly severe” shortages issued on Sunday is the highest under a four-tier warning system introduced earlier this year.
It means that, if necessary, the province can ask central government for emergency power supplies.
Last Monday Sichuan closed most factories and introduced electricity rationing in the cities to ensure there was enough electricity for domestic use.
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Those measures were supposed to end on Sunday, but sources from the State Grid said they had remained in place in at least some parts of the province. A document seen by the Post suggested that the suspension had been extended for five days to Thursday.
A message on the State Grid’s hotline in Dazhou, a manufacturing centre in the north of the province, said: “Industrial power use has not resumed as the focus is still on ensuring [enough for] residential use, although that is being rationed.
“The resumption of normal supplies depends on the weather. Rain is expected on August 25.”
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The demand for power in Sichuan rose by 25 per cent this summer, while the water flow into the hydro power reservoirs that provide 80 per cent of the province’s electricity fell by more than half, local media reported on Saturday.
The authorities said scorching temperatures are likely to persist till the end of the month and all measures have been taken to tackle the problem, including work on contingency plans to guarantee power supplies to homes.
“Rural and mountainous areas are suffering more with water shortages. There has been no rainfall this month. Rivers have dried up and there is a high fire risk,” said one Dazhou resident named Huang.
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“We have taken the elderly to the town, which has better power supplies, though we still see power cuts every day. Hotels, mahjong parlours and big shopping centres which have installed power generators are full of people,” he said.
The national weather bureau has issued its first national drought alert for this year and authorities have been mobilising resources to protect the planting of crops this autumn and mitigate disruption to factory production.
A red heatwave alert, the highest possible level, was issued on Sunday for the 10th day in a row in parts of the country. Some areas, including eastern Sichuan and the neighbouring city of Chongqing saw temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Rainfall in the Yangtze River basin is more than 45 per cent below normal levels this month and high temperatures are likely to persist for at least another week, according to official forecasts.
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The central government has allocated 11.7 million yuan (US$1.7 million) worth of assistance, including 23 power-generating units, to drought-hit Chongqing.
Shanghai, which has also been hit by the heatwave, said it would suspend decorative lighting in the area around the Bund on Monday and Tuesday to save electricity.
