Northern Chinese provinces hit peak power loads on heat wave

A heat wave in northern China and resumption of economic activity has pushed electricity load in several provinces to record highs multiple times over the past few days, according to official data.

The demand, driven largely by air conditioning and cooling systems, is putting pressure on the grid, and eating through supply of power generation fuels, such as natural gas, LNG, and coal, as summer peaks in the coming weeks.

The peak power load in the operating area of State Grid Corp., one of the world's largest power utilities, has exceeded 894 GW, with power loads in provinces and regions of Shandong, Henan and Ningxia all hitting record highs, State Grid said overnight June 23.

State Grid is China's largest power generation and transmission utility and its areas of operation cover nearly 90% of the country, with the other main state power utility China Southern Power Grid covering the southern part of the country.

State Grid's network is broadly divided into the North East Grid, North Grid, North West Grid, Central China Grid, East China Grid and two other distribution regions in the west.

In the week ended June 17, the maximum electricity load in North West and North Grid had already exceeded the previous year's highs by 8.81% and 3.21%, respectively. North West Grid saw record power load of 112 GW June 17, and North Grid hit a new seasonal record of 249 GW June 19, State Grid said earlier in the week ending June 24.

The demand surge has been driven by temperatures in several provinces. The Central Meteorological Observatory June 21 issued an alert for high temperatures for 12 provinces and regions across the country, with maximum temperatures in Hebei and Shandong provinces expected to reach more than 40 C.

Maximum temperatures in Henan province exceeded 40 C since mid-June, driving up its power load to a new record high of 72.49 GW June 21 after hitting records high of 65.34 GW June 19 and 71.08 GW June 20, the State Grid said June 23.

Power loads in Shandong and Ningxia also hit record highs of 92.94 GW June 21 and 15.16 GW June 19, respectively, the data showed. In addition, power demand in Tianjin and Shaanxi province has also climbed due to higher temperature, with power load in Tianjin reaching 14.82 GW June 21, the highest level in 2022, State Grid said.

Shandong is China's third largest province by gross domestic product and Henan is the fifth largest out of the country's total list of 31 administrative regions, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most of the power generation in the affected province is coal-fired, while gas-fired power generation is largely centered in the eastern coastal and south provinces.

The National Development and Reform Commission said in a press release June 16 that the country had sufficient installed power generation capacity and coal inventories at most power plants were at historical highs to meet peak summer power demand. The country's top policy planner said it will strengthen coordination with relevant coal, oil and gas suppliers to ensure stable fuel supply.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly called for increased coal supply so far in 2022 to ensure stable power supply and avoid power cuts similar to the ones in 2021. During a visit to Hebei province June 21, Li stressed on the need to maximize coal production in peak summer, state television CCTV reported.