BEIJING (AFP) — Chinese lithium hub Sichuan province will ration electricity supply to factories until Saturday, state media reported, as a heatwave sends power demands soaring and dries up reservoirs.
Temperatures in the province — home to nearly 84 million people — have hovered above 40 to 42 degrees Celsius since last week, according to data from China’s Meteorological Administration, increasing the demand for air conditioning.
The region relies on dams to generate 80 percent of its electricity, but rivers in the area have dried up this summer, Beijing’s Water Resources Ministry said.
The province in China’s southwest produces half the nation’s lithium, used in batteries for electric vehicles, and its hydropower projects provide electricity to industrial hubs along the country’s east coast.
But the local government has decided to prioritize residential power supply, ordering industrial users in 19 out of 21 cities in the province to suspend production until Saturday, according to a notice issued Sunday.
Some companies will be permitted to operate at a limited capacity, depending on their production needs.
Provinces including Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui that rely on power from western China have also issued electricity curbs for industrial users to ensure homes had enough power, according to local media reports.
“Sources estimate at least 1,200 tons of lithium output will be cut due to the operations disruptions in these five days,” Susan Zou, an analyst at Rystad Energy, told AFP, adding the cost of lithium carbonate had jumped since Monday.
A summer of extreme weather in China has seen multiple major cities record their hottest days ever.
China’s national observatory reissued a red alert for high temperatures on Monday, state media reported, as the mercury soared past 40 degrees Celsius across swathes of the country.