Shownotes Transcript
The shortage of electricity in some regions of the country has reached such an extent that even industrial production and people's livelihoods are already impacted by it.全国部分地区缺电严重，导致工业生产和民生受到影响。 For instance, 14 cities in Liaoning province, a national heavy industry base in Northeast China, have started rationing the supply of electricity. 例如，东北国家重工业基地辽宁省14个城市已开始限制电力供应。 Although the power suppliers were required to spare no effort to ensure the power supply to residential communities, hospitals, schools, telecommunications and public transport, some neighborhoods have had their electricity and water cut off, and even traffic signals and elevators have stopped working.尽管政府要求供电单位全力保障居民小区、医院、学校、电信、公交等供电，但部分小区停电停水，甚至连交通信号灯和电梯也已停用。 This afternoon, State Grid Corp of China, a state-owned enterprise, addressed the issue of electricity limits and said it will try its utmost to safeguard the bottom line of people's livelihoods, development and safety. 今天下午，国家电网公司就限电问题表示，将全力维护民生、发展和安全底线。 The power shortage originates from multiple causes. Some cities have taken the initiative to ration the power supply to fulfill the requirement to reduce carbon emissions, while the electricity generation capacity has also been reduced by the dramatic increase in coal price in recent months.电力短缺由多方面因素造成。部分城市为满足碳减排要求主动拉闸限电，近几个月煤价大幅上涨也导致发电量减少。 Due to the price hikes of coal and gas, and the comparatively low electricity price in the country, which is settled by the government, the power plants' profit margins have become smaller and smaller. The elimination of backward coal production capacity and the decrease in coal imports have both driven up the price of coal. Some plants have suspended production to check the fast rise in costs, as the more electricity they generate, the more economic losses they will have to sustain. 由于煤、油价格上涨，加之政府对国内电价定价较低，发电厂的利润空间越来越小。淘汰落后煤炭产能以及煤炭进口量减少均推高了煤炭价格。一些工厂已经停产以遏制成本的快速上涨，因为发电量越大，它们承受的经济损失就越大。
▲ An employee welds a steel frame at a plant in Dalian, Liaoning province, in February. Photo by Wang Yang/For China Daily The budget for carbon emissions is made for the whole year, which means local governments can scatter their quota across 12 months to make sure their emissions don't exceed the limit. 碳排放预算按年度进行制定，这意味着地方政府可以将配额分配到12个月之中，以确保其排放不超过限额。 However, some local officials tend to go easy in the first few months and then try to suddenly tighten the screws in the last few months.Although limiting coal consumption is in line with the requirements of green development, it should not be implemented in such a one-size-fits-all manner as the power shortage has already affected the economy and people's lives. 然而，一些地方官员往往会在一年的头几个月放松警惕，到了最后几个月就突然拧紧螺丝。虽然限制煤炭消费符合绿色发展的要求，但在电力短缺已经影响到经济和人民生活的情况下，实在不该通过一刀切的方式来拉闸限电。 The local officials who make such strategies lack a proper understanding of green development. It is time they started making long-term plans and not myopic short-term ones. 制定这种策略的地方官员缺乏对绿色发展的正确认识。现在，他们不该继续延续目前这种缺乏远见的短期计划，而应该开始制定更为长远的计划。