China warns of a shortage of electricity during the summer

China Energy Regulatory Commission said on Monday that it expects the peak electricity load this summer to rise by more than 100 million kilowatts compared to last year, threatening supply pressures in some areas, especially during bad weather waves.

Officials confirmed during a press conference that the National Energy Administration expects supplies to be limited in the eastern, central, southern and southwestern provinces and the Inner Mongolia region, especially if the weather becomes bad.

Data published earlier this month showed that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year grew by 5.3%, a pace that exceeded what experts had expected and was achieved despite the real estate crisis hitting the country and the slowdown in consumption rates as a result of economic fears.

Although this quarterly growth rate is considered an unattainable dream for most of the world’s major economies, it remains the lowest in Chinese history since 1990 (3.9%), of course with the exception of the Covid pandemic period.

Although the quarterly growth rate reached 5.3%, in practice this number decreases to only 1.6% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.