China scrambles to fix power crunch

Roiled by widening power curbs that have disrupted industrial operations, Chinese commodity producers and manufacturers may finally be getting some relief.

Beijing’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Friday it will work to resolve the power shortages that have plagued production since June and have intensified in recent weeks as ambitious new measures to rein in emissions kicked in.

It singled out the gas-dependent fertiliser sector as being particularly hard hit and called on the country’s main energy producers to fulfil their full supply contracts to fertiliser makers.

The impact of the shortages has, however, been broad. At least 15 listed Chinese firms that produce a range of materials and goods - from aluminium and chemicals to dyes and furniture - have said their production had been disrupted by power curbs. These include Yunnan Aluminium a unit of China’s state-run metals group Chinalco, which has cut its 2021 aluminium output target by more than 500,000 tonnes or almost 18%.

A Yunnan unit of Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power has also said it will miss its annual output target.

– Reuters