China’s power crisis ‘man-made’, and miscalculations by Beijing serve as ‘a very painful lesson’, coal insiders say

[Hamartia Antidote]

Coal industry insiders blame Beijing for China’s ‘man-made’ power crisis

While conceding that carbon-emission targets will ‘absolutely benefit’ China, some critics allege that there are problems with the ways those targets are being implemented.

www.scmp.com

Orange Wang


China does not have a shortage of coal, and the nationwide power cuts were a “man-made crisis” and “a big mistake”, according to domestic coal industry insiders who blame Beijing for its miscalculations in coal-production planning and its antiquated national power pricing system.

Chen Weidong, the former chief energy researcher with the China Institute of Energy Economics at state-owned energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation, said at a virtual energy forum in Beijing that there was no basis for the coal-shortage argument.

“China, in fact, has no shortage of power generation capacity, coal resources nor production capacity. How could China suddenly descend into power rationing? This is a man-made crisis,” Chen alleged at Tuesday’s forum.

Chinese authorities also excessively capped the amount of coal that China’s miners have been allowed to dig up, and producing less than full capacity has created a supply gap, Tao Guangyuan, executive director of the Sino-German Renewable Energy Centre, said at the same event.

To hit carbon-emission targets, China must be more sophisticated with its energy planning by raising energy efficiency and by using cleaner energy to naturally reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, rather than imposing forced caps on supply, he said.


“This a very painful lesson,” Tao said.

China’s power-supply crisis escalated in September when more than 20 out of the country’s 31 provincial jurisdictions suffered electricity cuts. In some areas, rationing extended beyond industrial users into households.

The situation sparked widespread debate about the cause of the power cuts – ranging from local authorities’ aggressive measures to meet Beijing’s non-negotiable carbon-reduction targets, to a shortage of coal made worse by a ban on Australian coal.

While the carbon emissions targets will “absolutely benefit” China, the problem has been in the implementation of those targets, Tao said.

Many major coal-production areas, including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, imposed administrative caps on coal output this year, resulting in an unnecessary shortage, said Tao, who is also the chief representative of the German Energy Agency in China.

“This was a big mistake,” said Tao. “You should not limit coal production. They can produce as much as they would like, although it is feasible … to limit the usage of coal.
“Energy is in rigid demand, you cannot be without it … Once you limit [coal production], even if there is a tiny gap in supply, the price will soar sky-high.”

While there have been reports that coal inventories at China’s power plants have started to rise, Tao said this was not “new” output – it is the output that was suppressed earlier this year.
He also said coal production was set too low this year, after being benchmarked against unusually lower consumption last year when the pandemic hit.

Apart from the production curbs, he also pointed to deeper systemic problems, including China’s state-controlled and fixed electricity rates.

Because the prices have not been fully dictated by supply and demand shifts within the market, a lot of electricity was discarded rather than stored when there was an oversupply, according to Tao. And moreover, he said the country has not invested enough in technologies to store excess power.
“Without institutional incentives, technology will not play its role,” he warned.

Tao was also critical about China’s lack of an effective price-warning system.
“The problems caused by coal restrictions actually appeared at the beginning of this year, since coal prices began to rise at that time … But no one dared to say it,” he said.

Chen, now founder of Beijing-based independent consultancy DFS Energy, said that the power crunch was a “very good test” for Beijing’s energy-transition aspirations.

“We should avoid daydreaming or clinging to only beautiful ideals while ignoring the brutal reality,” he said.

China’s power crunch appears to have eased in recent weeks, after the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency, stepped up strong interventions to boost coal supplies and curb the coal price hikes.
And this week, China’s eastern Zhejiang province announced it would stop electricity rationing – a sign that the nation’s power supply might be normalising.

 

[MH.Yang]

The Chinese govt is not only limiting domestic coal production, but also limiting the production of almost all ores such as iron ore and rare earth. This is not only because of protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions, but also for economic balance. China has a trade surplus of more than $600 billion a year. If it does not use it, it will leave inflation at home. Moreover, the US dollar has been depreciating, and retaining too much foreign exchange for a long time will lead to great losses.

 

[Nan Yang]

The Chinese govt is not only limiting domestic coal production, but also limiting the production of almost all ores such as iron ore and rare earth. This is not only because of protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions, but also for economic balance. China has a trade surplus of more than $600 billion a year. If it does not use it, it will leave inflation at home. Moreover, the US dollar has been depreciating, and retaining too much foreign exchange for a long time will lead to great losses.

What I heard is over capacity or fears of over capacity on certain industries. Electricity was restricted to only certain industries.
The current huge surplus could become a huge overcapacity.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

The Chinese govt is not only limiting domestic coal production, but also limiting the production of almost all ores such as iron ore and rare earth. This is not only because of protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions, but also for economic balance. China has a trade surplus of more than $600 billion a year. If it does not use it, it will leave inflation at home. Moreover, the US dollar has been depreciating, and retaining too much foreign exchange for a long time will lead to great losses.

Well tell that to the people inconvenienced. I'm sure they are wondering why they got hit vs some skyline in Shanghai.

 

[Beast]

Nice fake story.

 

[MH.Yang]

Well tell that to the people inconvenienced. I'm sure they are wondering why they got hit vs some skyline in Shanghai.

Shanghai? Where did this news come from?
China's power rationing is to limit industrial power consumption, not residential power consumption.
Shanghai residents are even less likely to have a power outage unless it is a line failure.


BTW: In addition, the girl interviewed said: energy conservation and emission reduction should be planned in detail. There should be electric street lamps in some sections (wind energy street lamps are widely used in China). After all, it is related to traffic safety. This should be questioning the govt's policy of switching to wind energy street lamps, which has nothing to do with power rationing.

There is also a notice in the video that the routine annual power outage maintenance will be carried out from 7:00 to 17:00 on September 29, instead of blackout energy saving. this video lies. You can google translate what "停电检修工作" means.

The western media really have a habit of lying. They blatantly and wantonly tampered with the truth by taking advantage of westerners' ignorance of Chinese word.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Shanghai residents are even less likely to have a power outage unless it is a line failure.
View attachment 793492

You are missing my point. Why should some 2nd tier city sufffer power shortages while some big city like Shanghai has none.

The western media really have a habit of lying. They blatantly and wantonly tampered with the truth by taking advantage of westerners' ignorance of Chinese word.

SCMP is Chinese/Asian media so stop using your trained stock stupid Chinese blanket Western media excuses for what you really mean is "All media that is not Chinese state sponsored".

Unless you want to now call Hong Kong people Westerners and admit the take back was a complete failure and they have obviously no respect for the CCP after almost 25 years.

They blatantly and wantonly tampered with the truth by taking advantage of westerners' ignorance of Chinese word.

Obviously some people are seeing lights out while others are not. That's the bottom line. Not some pointing fingers at media lying.

The only ignorance is yours on Geography.

 

[MH.Yang]

You are missing my point. Why should some 2nd tier city sufffer power shortages while some big city like Shanghai has none.



SCMP is Chinese/Asian media so stop using your trained stock stupid Chinese blanket Western media excuses for what you really mean is "All media that is not Chinese state sponsored".

Unless you want to now call Hong Kong people Westerners and admit the take back was a complete failure and they have obviously no respect for the CCP after almost 25 years.



Obviously some people are seeing lights out while others are not. That's the bottom line. Not some pointing fingers at media lying.

The only ignorance is yours on Geography.

As far as I know, no matter which Chinese city, there are no restrictions on residential and commercial power consumption. What is restricted is industrial electricity. Power rationing is mainly concentrated in industrial parks in Northeast China.

Second, China's power grid is not connected nationwide. The East China power grid where Shanghai is located and the Northeast power grid where Shenyang is located have different resources. There is no power outage in Shanghai, and the power outage in Shenyang, it is not the difference between the first and second tier cities, but the difference between the power grid.


Third, I'm sorry I didn't notice that it was the media in Hong Kong, but this video obviously changed the remarks of the interviewees.

 

[Globenim]

lmao SCMP the U.S. medias most favourite "yellowface" laundry for U.S. regime propaganda since Apple Daily has stepped over line, patching together more random unrelated footage and statements with U.S. propaganda lies to spoonfeed U.S. regime controlled "free and independent media" feeding this intelligence insulting garbage straight back to the domestic American population where it came from in first place and for whom it has always been intended.

Cue for stupid American stock responses projecting American dishonesty and ignorance

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

lmao SCMP the U.S. medias most favourite "yellowface" laundry for U.S. regime propaganda since Apple Daily has stepped over line, patching together more random unrelated footage and statements with U.S. propaganda lies to spoonfeed U.S. regime controlled "free and independent media" feeding this intelligence insulting garbage straight back to the domestic American population where it came from in first place and for whom it has always been intended.

Cue for stupid American stock responses projecting American dishonesty and ignorance

Typical useless answer from you where apparently every media outlet that isn't 100% controlled by the the CCP is under complete control of the "CIA white man". There's around 400 employees in SCMP and I suppose you think most of them are all white people or the ever present typical weak-minded Chinese "white worshippers".

I guess we control the minds of everybody on the planet. Even Chinese minds who aren't part of the CCP's Borg Collective.

 

[Globenim]

Third, I'm sorry I didn't notice that it was the media in Hong Kong, but this video obviously changed the remarks of the interviewees.

Hes just talking BS like always to distract from the fact that the entire story is a lie. Yes the evidence is contradicting the very U.S. propaganda fabricated lie its supposed to support, but once you understand its U.S. propaganda for an already U.S. braindamaged audience and the source is famous for pulling this off, you can save your lengthly explanations because he already knows that and is just typically dishonest and disingenious. Trolls like him and other American shills wouldn't constantly post SCMP artiles if they werent full of U.S. propaganda aligned or literal U.S. propaganda BS.

Most of SCMP employees are not even Chinese. SCMP is a British founded newspaper, later owned by Australians, with locales abroad and was only recently purchased by Alibaba, was defacto and actually owned and run for almost 100 years by Westerners, that have forever favoured and parotted British and U.S. regime propaganda ad verbatim and openly attacked Chinas defensive policies against U.S. terrorism while defending the U.S. regimes transgressions, aggressions, exploitation and abuse. SCMP somehow has only one "local" partner that is another product of British occupation, propaganda and indocrination and openly hostile towards China, while the rest of its partners it has published tenthousands of articles for are all U.S. loyal propaganda mouthpieces based controlled and directed by the U.S. regime or by one of its proxy regimes and every last of them vehemently anti-China and havily biased against China. A huge portion of their content is not just word for word recycled or straight out copied from U.S. regime propaganda mouthpieces and edited with U.S. biases, but as said actually aimed at dumb and already brainwashed Americans who cant tell the difference between a maintenance notice on a condo or an energy crisis nor care even if its spelled out in into their face. It rarely even mentions real Chinese media yet constantly and blatantly promotes U.S. regime propaganda mouthpieces spouting nonstop lies as legitimate newspapers. its the most frequently cited "Chinese" media outlet in the U.S. and constantly sold as a representation of "Chinese views" for that very reason. Launderinging U.S. propaganda into "Chinese reports" and responsibility for U.S. propaganda to China as you can see in this thread, dodging the fact that the entire story is a lie by with BS rethoric about the source being allegedly "Chinese"

This false dichotomy that HK is either "unfree because China bad" or "HK belongs to America good" or cracking down on flat out U.S. organized terrorist organizations attacking people physically in China equals the shut down of any critical or biased newspaper in China, is just part of this tedious and nonsensical rethoric.