Cold Snap, Recovering Economy Drive Record Power Demand

A cold snap and rapid economic recovery pushed demand for power to record levels in large swathes of Central China last week, leading to shortages that prompted many areas to limit consumption and resort to controlled blackouts.

The problem has been compounded by recently soaring coal prices, since plants powered by the fossil fuel supply about half of China’s electricity. Domestic coal supplies have been squeezed recently due to tighter inspections following a series of recent mining accidents; while imports have also plunged as most users have stopped buying from one of China’s leading suppliers, Australia, amid recent trade frictions.