BEIJING – Chinese-language polyurethanes website PUWorld is reporting that urgent power restriction orders, limiting industrial electricity usage, have been issued in several major chemical-producing provinces. Companies in Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Haining and other provinces have reported receiving power restriction notices.
An anonymous blogger in Hangzhou said: ‘Because of the hot weather, the power grid load is too large, and enterprises are required to limit the use of electricity. The specific instructions are that we turn off lighting in indoor office areas, adjust the air conditioning to no cooler than 26°C, and turn off as much high-power equipment as is possible.’
Another blogger from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, received notice from the Chengdu Economic and Information Technology Bureau stating that, in the forecast hot weather, the safety of residents and the grid infrastructure must be prioritised over regular, predictable supply to industry.
So far 28 Chinese provinces and cities have ordered electricity consumption measures. Rate of production of isobutyraldehyde, neopentalene glycol, powder coatings and related industries has fallen from 5% to as much as 70% as a result of the power rationing. Meanwhile production of methanol, ethylene glycol and PP may be reduced by as much as 10 Mt during the electrical supply constraint.
