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Chinese residents and businesses hit by power cuts during cold winter

蘋果日報 2020/12/18 05:00


Zhejiang, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces in mainland China have issued orders to limit the usage of electricity, as streetlights were dimmed and some factories were told to work only once every four days.
The power shortage could be linked to China’s ban of Australian coal as ties between the two nations have recently deteriorated. The National Development and Reform Commission had earlier notified ten electricity companies not to buy coal from Australia.
Small scale companies and factories in Yiwu, a manufacturing powerhouse in Zhejiang, were forced to close. The industry was worried about logistics since goods were unable to ship and had piled up, a factory owner told Radio Free Asia.
The measures not only affected business but residents’ lives, as they were only allowed to turn the heating on when the indoor temperature dropped to three degrees Celsius, a trade company owner named Jiang told RFA. Many were wearing down jackets at home instead of turning on heating, she said.
Companies of high energy usage and low production value in Qianku town in Wenzhou city of Zhejiang were only allowed limited electricity use between Dec. 15 and 31, according to WeChat news page Kuajingxiniu. Those who failed to comply would face a punishment of 20 days without power.
Traffic and streetlights were switched off at midnight in some cities in Zhejiang and Hunan. A Yiwu resident said she walked in a park after work and the darkness on the streets was frightening.
Electricity usage in Hunan would only be allowed between 10:30 a.m. and noon, and between 4:30 and 8:30 p.m., according to a document issued by the province’s Development and Reform Commission. Party and government offices would be shut on the weekends to conserve energy.
Some workers have to climb up to 30 floors to get to work. Others had their computer screens suddenly switched off at work as they found the power had been cut. Residents at home faced cold weather since they could not prepare for the power shortage in advance.
The sanctions imposed on Australia would not affect the country at all, and China’s energy shortage could have been eased by allowing Australian coal into the country, a netizen said.
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