North China Gas Shortages Leave Villagers Shivering

Rural residents in North China’s Hebei province have experienced gas shortages this winter that have left them without enough of the fuel to adequately heat their homes and cook amid sub-zero temperatures, as local distributors failed to secure enough cheap gas from upstream suppliers, Caixin has learned.

Several villagers in Baixiang county of Xingtai city told Caixin that their gas, which is supplied by subsidiaries of Hong Kong-listed China Gas Holdings Ltd., an energy giant partly owned by state-owned Beijing Enterprises Group Co. Ltd., has been suspended frequently since the beginning of winter and been of poor quality.