Faced with extreme temperatures, China has issued its first national drought alert of the year. In the southwest of the country, the province of Sichuan had to take drastic measures to save electricity.
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The mercury blithely exceeds 40°C this Sunday, August 21 in Chengdu. The capital of Sichuan province has been one of the hottest cities in China since the start of the summer with already catastrophic consequences for the economy. China issued its first national drought alert of the year this week.
The rivers in the region are dry, which is a problem in this province which depends 80% on hydraulic dams for its electricity supply. Losses are estimated at nearly 400 million euros over a month, especially tens of millions of people experience power outages. “This year, the province is experiencing very high temperatures, an exceptional drought, it is unheard of for 60 years. Hence a significant reduction in the water supply“Says Zhou Jian, one of the officials of the Sichuan Electricity Company. Result: “power plants are shut down and the province’s hydroelectric capacity has fallen by half“, he continues.
To save energy, air conditioning in trains and metro stations is limited, as in shopping centers and offices. But with the heat wave, the use of air conditioning is even more necessary.
Public lighting is also reduced and billboards and neon signs must also be turned off. The most energy-intensive factories are shut down, such as car manufacturers Toyota and Volkswagen. Foxconn electronics factories that assemble certain Apple products, textile factories and the chemical industry are also affected. For Luo Xiaoyi, spokesperson for the province’s electricity company, supplying homes is a priority.
“This is the first time that Sichuan has taken measures to avoid consumption peaks. We will inject $25 million to subsidize companies that are not going to produce during peak hours and give priority to the population.”
Luo Xiaoyi, spokesperson for the Sichuan Province Electric Companyat franceinfo
Some factories will therefore have to work at night. But these power cuts will also impact one of China’s main economic lungs, the eastern coastal regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, whose factories are powered by electricity produced in Sichuan.
China produces a third of the world’s hydroelectricity. This is one of the country’s areas of development to limit its CO2 emissions. But the drought calls into question this great leap forward in renewable energies in the country, resulting in the reopening of many thermal power stations. Polluting power stations that run on coal but which have the advantage of not suffering from the heat wave.