Power cuts restraining 250,000-ton glyphosate and glufosinate capacity in China’s Sichuan provice, rainfall may ease power supply pressures

Since start of the summer, extremely high temperatures have persisted, resulting in a surge in power demand in many regions. The provinces of Sichuan, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong have issued notices on suspensions to power supplies and planned supply re-arrangements, which have affected the operations of some of manufacturers. 

The power supply gap in Sichuan is most serious. Since July this year, high temperatures have led to a rise in cooling demand, while dry weather has led to insufficient hydropower generation, resulting in a big gap in Sichuan’s power supply. On August 14, the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Sichuan Province and the State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company jointly issued the Urgent Notice on Expanded Shift from Industrial Power Supply to Civilian Power Supply, requesting a shift from industrial power supply to civilian power supply, which will be increased in 19 cities/prefectures in the province except Panzhihua and Liangshan. The notice will come in force from 0:00 on August 15, 2022, to 24:00 on the August 20, 2022. However, the notice is not yet been made public in Sichuan. On August 21, Sichuan launched a Level-1 Energy Supply Emergency Response to ensure that electric power is supplied in an orderly manner. It is worthy of note that the province has a large glyphosate and glufosinate production capacity. So far, the manufacturers affected by the power curtailment are:

According to the Sichuan Meteorological Station, rainfall is expected in Sichuan Province from 26 to 29 August in the form of light to moderate thunderstorms and showers in most areas of the province, while heavy rain is expected in west and northwest, and rainstorms are expected in specific areas. The high temperatures in the province are expected to change, alleviating the pressures on local power supplies. 

Currently, the Sichuan Nanchong Economic Development Zone and Xinqiao Industrial Park of Guang’an Economic in the Technological Development Zone are the major industrial parks housing agrochemical enterprises in Sichuan. Manufacturers present in the former include Sichuan Taihe Chemical, Sichuan Heben Crop Protection and Sichuan Aolanduo Chemical, while manufacturers present in the latter include Guangan Bimeida Biotechnology, Sichuan Fengshan Biotechnology, Sichuan Woye Biotechnology and Sichuan Huihe Crop Protection.