Southern China Faces Tight Power Supply Amid Hot Weather

What’s new: Southern China’s Guangdong is experiencing a surge of power demand as heatwaves hit the nation’s most populous province. Meanwhile, the supply of electricity is tightening as hydropower plants dry up in Yunnan, Guangdong’s major power source.

Electricity consumption in Guangdong has been climbing since the beginning of May as temperatures rise, according to the China Southern Power Grid. On May 22, the Southern Power Grid’s peak load topped 200 million kilowatts for the first time this year—35 days earlier than last year.