China’s power shortage leaves 1 million electric cars, 400,000 stations struggling to search for jolt to charge batteries: Report

State Grid, the country’s largest electricity distributor, has since last Thursday reduced power supply between the peak hours of 3 pm to 10 pm every day at public facilities in Zhejiang, Hubei, Sichuan, and Henan provinces and Chongqing municipality.

It also suspended operations at some charging facilities during these hours, reports South China Morning Post.

Last year, a power shortage in more than 10 provinces across mainland China kept millions of EV owners from using their cars and sapped their appetite for such vehicles.

But demand rebounded sharply soon afterwards, as many consumers viewed the power shortage as a Black Swan event.

“Buying interest in EVs remains strong in Shanghai these days and the power shortage does not seem to be a concern at all,” Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai told the newspaper.

“EV sales in the next three to four months will shoot up as people hope to enjoy cash subsidies [which will be cancelled next year],” Maowei added.

Shirley Zhao, who lives in Wuhan and drives an EV, told the newspaper the power shortage had already limited people’s movements and business activity, with time spent driving reduced accordingly.

“I just drive less during the power shortage,” she said, adding that EVs will still be attractive to China’s young drivers.