Drones are bustling above traffic-clogged roads in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, as police officers make an effort to manage lines of trucks waiting to be loaded with coal.
- The congestion disrupting the Chinese city, one of the world’s biggest coal hubs, points out the huge task facing China as it rallies to ease a power crisis that’s stifling major industries.
- For over a month, the energy crunch has rippled through China’s manufacturing centers for steel, aluminum, and cement, and prices of coal have made unrealistic gains.
- As the upcoming winter threatens a potential increase in demand, authorities are taking additional steps to intervene.
- These interventions include reversing recent moves pushing towards cleaner energy and improved safety standards by restarting old and dirty coal mines, scrapping rules to keep power prices in check, and increasing imports of foreign fuel.
Beijing has also ordered coal mines to use all their resources to ramp up output, pushing on the sector to deliver more than 12 million tons of fuel a day in the last three months.
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