Why are there frequent power outages in Northeast China?

Why are there frequent power cuts and power cuts in Northeast China in 2021?

1. Reason 1: Tight power supply and demand

As we all know, the Northeast region is dominated by heavy industry. It is rich in mineral resources such as oil and iron ore, but at the same time, when smelting these minerals It consumes a lot of electricity. With the recent arrival of cold air in the Northeast, residents need to turn on air conditioners to adjust indoor temperatures, and electricity consumption will also be overloaded. In addition, the Northeast State Grid also stated that there is a risk of power collapse in the Northeast region, and the situation is relatively urgent, and there may be situations where power restrictions cannot be notified to households in advance.

2. Reason 2: Coal prices are running at high levels

Since mid-August, coal prices across the country have been rising, and my country’s power generation is mainly thermal power generation, like many large-scale power generation Most factories generate electricity by purchasing thermal coal, and new energy power generation has not yet been fully popularized. Due to the excessive increase in coal prices, power plants are losing money every day, resulting in a shortage of coal in power plants. Autumn and winter are the peak periods of electricity consumption in the Northeast, resulting in tight power supply.

3. Reason 3: Short-term coal shortage

After entering autumn, we ushered in the golden period of industrial power consumption. The number of available days of power plants is still at an extremely low level, and power plants are replenishing their stocks. Still has strong support for demand. According to data from the China Coal Transportation and Marketing Association, my country's coal imports have increased significantly year-on-year in recent months. In August 2021, my country's coal imports increased by 35.8% year-on-year to 28.05 million tons.

4. Reason 4: Related to the development goal of “carbon neutrality”

In September 2020, at the United Nations General Assembly, our country’s leaders proposed “carbon peaking”, The "carbon neutrality" 30-60 goal is to achieve carbon peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. On March 15, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the ninth meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Committee. One of the important topics was to study the basic ideas and main measures to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The meeting specified the "14th Five-Year Plan" "There are 7 aspects of work that should be focused on during this period. According to industry experts, this meeting clarified the positioning of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and especially laid out a clear "construction map" for carbon peaking in the next five years.

To achieve "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality", it is necessary to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and the use of coal is an important direction. China's current electricity supply is still dominated by thermal power, of which coal power accounts for 99%. Although China is a major coal-producing country, it had been exporting coal before 2008. Coal production accounted for more than half of the world, five times that of the United States. However, the cost of transporting coal from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia to the southeastern coast is about the same as importing it from overseas, so coal imports began in 2008.

This year, due to the extremely hot coal market and rising prices, our country will no longer import from Australia, resulting in a decrease in domestic coal quantity. The Northeast used to generate excess power and support other places. Now, if it causes huge losses, it is necessary to restrict the electricity consumption of residents in the Northeast.

The purpose of carbon neutrality is to use new energy to replace the use of fossil energy such as coal and oil and reduce the import of fossil energy. In order to truly achieve the development goals of green city and green life.

The dual-carbon goal is not just a slogan, but must be truly implemented to improve the current energy industry structure, production and lifestyle, give priority to ecology, and pursue a green and low-carbon development path. Therefore, in order to achieve the political goal of "carbon neutrality", companies and individuals need to cooperate together.