Shanghai Manufacturers Face New Tough Electricity
Restrictions
Shanghai manufacturers, caught between an electricity
shortage and hot weather, are switching some of their
production to off-peak hours, and are doing their manufacturing
between 10PM and 6AM.
In spite of the government's efforts to force a soft
landing for the Chinese economy, the Shanghai economy
continues to expand at a breakneck pace. While east China's
continued electricity shortages are estimated to have
taken 1-2% growth off of Shanghai's growth this year,
there continues to be heavy demand because of the high
growth in the economy, which is estimated to have gone
up 14.8% in the first six months of 2004.
It is estimated that more than 2100 manufacturers in
Shanghai have now switched to manufacturing at night during
off-peak hours.
The highest demand for Shanghai's electricity peaked
at 1428 megawatts, in contrast to the 2003 peak of 1361
megawatts in 2003. The Shanghai region is home to much
of China's electricity hungry newer factories in the automobile
industry and chip fab sectors.
Jiangsu province, which is in the region around Shanghai,
has had much more severe electricity shortages than Shanghai.
Because Shanghai is home to many foreign businesses, government
policy has been to give higher priority to Shanghai's
electrical needs than surrounding regions.
Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai and Jiangsu province,
has been experiencing much more severe electricity shortages
than Jiangsu. Except for the 10 day holiday around Chinese
New Year, it has been experiencing electricity cuts every
day. In some instances, this means that there are electricity
cutoffs of up to 4 hours daily.
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