Factory Power Outages, A Reality Of Chinese Factories

Just another struggle with Chinese factory life…not sure if people here know, but due to high energy consumption and limited capacity of factories in China – they turn off power in certain factories. This is not the choice of the factory, but instead the local or province government forcing this to happen in order to prevent power outages (blackouts, brownouts) in the area.

But I was planning to take a trip to Dongguan today, but received this email from my assistant, Amy there:

Hi Mike,

I am sorry to tell you that we got power rationing today. Mr. Xu our electrician told me start from this week , we will got power cut on each Tuesday and each Friday. pls noted that.

http://english.eastday.com/e/100802/u1a5367173.html

http://www.subaonet.com/html/chinanews/2011428/1142894720634595755.html

http://www.china.org.cn/learning_english/2010-09/08/content_20886322.htm

Maybe this you can write a blog about this topic , Power cut

—

Best regards
Amy Gu
Office assistant

Its funny that she mentions I should blog about it! I am getting everyone in my life integrated into my blog…..yet I believe that is the future, the integration of social media in our work and personal lives.

Back to this power outage.. Its another reason China is different then other places….I think in America, this would not be allowed….the citizens would scream this is not freedom….there has to be power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Then again, this is a government owned / controlled business in China. I believe there isn’t much the people of China can say to stop this.

I have to note, the factory has a backup generator, but its used on a limited basis. It keeps basic work going, but in the evening, the dormitories have no electricity. If I cannot get electricity in my dorm…then no internet, no blogging, no life!

I have been stuck there on days where there is power out…Amy knows how crazy I get. I am addicted to internet…therefore electricity.

I’ll have to stick in Shenzhen another night, wake up early, and bus it Chang An, Dongguan.

—- More follow ups from Amy —-
{{Amy, you know you can comment }} Amazing Amy read the blog and followed up with all the information below:

Chinese government wants to develop its economics, but power rationing can do nothing to help that , if we got enough power , do you think the Chinese government still want to do power rationing in many provinces at the same time , did the Chinese government benifit from the power rationing ?

On one hand ——> challenges

China’s booming energy demand is caused by rapid economic growth, particularly in heavy industry.

Industry by industry, energy demand in China is increasing so fast that the broader efficiency targets are becoming harder to hit.

These challenges are all the harder to rise to given that not everyone’s energy needs have been met.

Beijing is putting considerable pressure on local governments to reduce energy demand by shutting down obsolete industries.

Another victim of China’s energy demands is the global environment.

On the other hand——-> opportunities

Moreover, China’s mounting energy needs mean that it has a huge incentive to promote energy sources other than oil.

Renewable energy systems include systems (wind, solar, biomass and geothermal) that may be used to produce and sell electricity.

I also have to say, its also because summer is nearing, and all those air conditioners blasting all over the country…Chinese are becoming more and more like Americans….consuming more goods and using more energy. Sales of cars are exploding here, everyone wants to use their newly developed disposable income for convenience.