How do countries respond to power shortages?

India, China, and Bangladesh have cut power en masse and increased coal imports, while Germany has restricted electricity exports and is using nuclear power.

India is facing its worst power crisis in seven years in 2022. Demand for electricity rose 13.2% to 135 billion kWh in April, according to government data, leaving a 1.8% shortfall in supply – the biggest since October 2015.

Electricity consumption in Odisha state, home to the country’s largest steel and aluminium plants, increased by more than 30% between October 2021 and March 2022. This increase is 10 times the national average. The shortage has forced several Indian states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, to limit industrial use, forcing factories to shut down for several hours a day.

According to Indian survey platform LocalCircles, nearly half of the 35,000 respondents said they suffered power outages in May. The Goa state government had to buy an additional 120 MW of power from outside to avoid overload.

On the Times of India , analysts pointed out many reasons for this situation. That is the increased demand for air conditioning due to the record heat. In addition, the economic recovery after the easing of the lockdown has accelerated industrial activity. The new working model, which emerged in 2020 due to the pandemic, has caused millions of Indians to work remotely, increasing the amount of electricity used during the day.

Meanwhile, coal stocks at India’s thermal power plants are at a nine-year low. Coal accounts for nearly 75 percent of India’s annual electricity production. The country’s energy ministry explained that Indian Railways has not provided enough coal trains to Coal India.

A shop owner in Thane (India) uses his phone as a light during a power outage. Photo: Hindustan Times — A shop owner in Thane (India) uses his phone as a light during a power outage. Photo: *Hindustan Times*

A surge in solar installations over the past five years has helped India reduce its daytime power shortages. But shortages of coal and hydropower threaten evening supplies.

Indian authorities then had to take a series of measures to address the power shortage. They reversed the policy of reducing coal imports to zero. Instead, power plants were asked to increase coal imports for three years.

India also invoked an emergency law to start generating electricity at all plants that use imported coal. Many plants were then shut down due to high international coal prices.

Coal India has also had to divert coal supplies to power plants, rather than selling it to non-electric industries. Indian Railways has had to cancel many passenger trains to free up track for coal trains. India also plans to reopen more than 100 coal mines that were previously closed because they were deemed economically unsustainable.

India continues to face power shortages this year, due to delays in adding coal and hydropower capacity. “The situation is a little tense,” Grid-India said in a February report, predicting that peak evening consumption in April would increase by 6.4% compared to the same period last year.

The Indian Ministry of Energy has taken a series of measures to avoid power outages this summer. Accordingly, coal power plants have been directed to speed up maintenance. Coal is being supplied to coal power plants in sufficient quantity. Indian Railways will also cooperate to give way to railway tracks for transportation.

Gas-fired power plants will be mobilized to meet peak demand. Hydropower plants will be directed to optimize water use. 2,920 MW of electricity will also be added through new coal-fired power plants.

Another Asian country, Bangladesh , is also experiencing its worst energy crisis in a decade. Electricity shortages in the first week of June reached 15% - nearly three times higher than in May.

Bangladesh Electricity Authority figures show the country has had 114 days of power cuts in the first five months of this year, the same as all of last year. Many residents and small businesses have complained of power cuts lasting 10 to 12 hours without notice.

Employees at a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, work with candles during a power outage. Photo: AP

Bangladesh is facing power shortages due to high demand during the hot weather. Meanwhile, the country is struggling to import fuel due to dwindling foreign exchange reserves and a falling currency. A cyclone last month also disrupted gas supplies to power plants here. Gas accounts for half of Bangladesh’s annual electricity production.

Since late May, the Payra power plant in southern Bangladesh has had to shut down two units due to a lack of coal. Bangladesh's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Nasrul Hamid told Reuters that the units would resume operations in the last week of June. "There is no other way but to deal with this shortage," he said.

Last month, Zanendra Nath Sarker, chairman of Bangladesh’s state-owned gas company Petrobangla, told Reuters that the Summit LNG terminal would increase its LNG imports by 70 percent. Another terminal, Moheshkhali LNG, would also resume operations soon.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government has signed deals to buy fuel from Qatar and Oman and is taking steps to increase coal imports. For now, a Bangladeshi official told Reuters , "Only rain can ease the tension, as electricity demand will decrease when it rains."

Last year, the worst drought in decades caused parts of China’s Yangtze River to dry up, reducing the output of hydroelectric plants. In addition, heat waves caused China ’s electricity demand to skyrocket.

This forced Sichuan authorities to shut down factories for weeks. Industrial activity was also restricted for months in Yunnan. Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang and Shanghai all imposed power restrictions, affecting production and business activities.

Chinese authorities at the time pledged to prevent a repeat of the widespread blackouts. By the end of last year, Sichuan announced plans to build new gas-fired power plants and add transmission lines to connect the province to neighboring grids. In Guangdong, authorities approved 18 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants.

China has been seen as more responsive than many other places, according to analysts Mike Thomas and David Fishman of the Lantau Group consultancy. They explain that for many power companies, adding large-scale capacity would increase costs and risks.

Many points on the Rhine River dried up in August 2022. Photo: Reuters — Many points on the Rhine River dried up in August 2022. Photo: *Reuters*

Last year’s drought, combined with the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, also left Germany facing power shortages. Natural gas, much of it from Russia, accounted for 15% of the country’s electricity in 2021. So to ensure enough power amid Russia’s gas cuts, Germany has had to restart coal-fired power plants, despite its climate goals.

Germany also considered reducing electricity exports to its European neighbors last winter, in anticipation of a domestic power shortage. In addition, Berlin extended the shutdown of its nuclear power plants until mid-April 2023, instead of the end of 2022 as originally planned.

To save electricity, the city of Augsburg shut down or limited the hours of operation of many fountains. Munich announced an “energy bonus” of 100 euros for households that cut their annual consumption by 20%. Electricity companies launched energy-saving competitions for customers in the fall.

Still, thanks to a warmer-than-usual winter and large LNG imports, Germany has had little energy trouble, and in mid-April it shut down its nuclear power plants on schedule.

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