Electricity

Electricity supply to Afghanistan has been reduced by Uzbekistan by 60%. The Kabul authorities have said that electricity exports to Afghanistan have been reduced without coordination, while Uzbekistan officials said that the drop is triggered by the technical problem, that had arisen at the Marjan power station. The country has reduced the amount of electricity available for exports to Afghanistan, a news agency reported.

The central government has asked the power plants to add 10% of the imported coal to boost the supply, amid the ongoing coal crisis. It also warned the states that federal companies will curb their power supplies if they are found selling electricity on power exchanges to cash in on surging prices. Over half of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel stocks that will last three days or less.

As part of its climate change plan, Biden's administration said on September 8 that the US should strive to generate roughly 50% of its electricity from solar energy by 2050. According to Department-of-Energy research, solar power is expected to increase from its present level of barely 3% to as much as 40% by 2035 and 45% by 2050. However, it would take 4-times the solar capacity to achieve the goal.

China faces the worst electricity crunch since 2011 due to increased demand caused by extreme weather. Coal is used for 60% of the country's electricity production which has become a threat to President Xi Jinping's aim of making China carbon neutral by 2026. However, the provinces have started rationing power including Guangdong province responsible for more than 10 percent of the country's power supply.

A data analysis by Reuters has revealed that annual electricity usage in India has drastically fell for the first time in last 35 years. Citing pandemic-induced lockdown as a reason, the analysis showed that power generation dipped by 0.2% for the year 2020-21. However, it also highlighted that while March 2021 observed a continuous increase in electricity generation, it picked up by 23% in comparison to March 2020 demand.