Yunnan to Guangdong electricity exports halted

• 14 years ago (2010-03-19)
• David Flin

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The ongoing drought in the Chinese province of Yunnan has depleted hydropower generation capacity to the point that Yunnan has temporarily stopped transmitting electricity to Guangdong province. Yunnan’s hydropower capacity typically generates a surplus of electricity, which is sold to surrounding provinces and countries. However, Guangdong has actually been exporting electricity to Yunnan recently, in a role reversal for one of the larger consumers of Yunnan’s hydropower output.

The dearth of precipitation in Yunnan since last year has caused hydropower plants across the province to run below capacity, while some are not running at all, according to local media reports. Overall, exports of Yunnan-generated electricity to Guangdong are down by 4.23TWh this year.

A government official familiar with the energy sector said that the government has made contingency plans that will force electricity-intensive industries to shut down if power supplies become too scarce.

Meteorologists are predicting that Yunnan will not receive significant amounts of precipitations until May at the earliest.