China expands power curbs to 20 provinces

The world’s second-biggest economy is caught in the grips of a widening power crisis that’s threatening to stymie growth and further tangle already snarled global supply chains.

At least 20 Chinese provinces and regions making up more than 66 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product have announced some form of power cuts, mostly targeted at heavy industrial users. The reasons are twofold — record high coal prices are causing power generators to trim output despite soaring demand, while some areas have pro-actively halted electricity flows to meet emissions and energy intensity goals.

Power outages in northeastern China have plunged millions of homes into darkness, triggered factory shutdowns and threatened to disrupt the water supply in at least one province, the Al Jazeera reported. The Global Times tabloid on Tuesday said the “unexpected” and “unprecedented” electricity cuts in the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang were caused by power rationing during peak hours. The nationwide power shortages mirror tight energy supplies in Europe and elsewhere that have roiled commodity markets.

London nickel and tin prices extended losses into a second session on Tuesday, as widening power cuts in top metals consumer China spark worries over downstream demand.