Power cuts hit centres of industry

CHINA is battling its worst electricity crisis in a decade with the country so short of power that major cities have been hit by blackouts and factories have been forced to close.

It has been caused by the cost of coal rising as the economy reopened after the pandemic, meaning power stations were operating at a loss. The price of petrol and diesel has also spiked.

Power outages are most severe in the major north-eastern manufacturing hubs such as Liaoning, where diners eat by the light of their phones, left. Sixteen provinces are thought to be rationing energy to prevent full blackouts.