The energy shortage caused by the worst heat in China in six decades is causing increasing problems for German companies.
There are temporary production stops and other austerity measures.
"The lack of energy security poses major challenges for German companies in China," said Jens Hildebrandt, executive board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in China (AHK), on Wednesday of the German Press Agency in Beijing.
In badly affected regions like Sichuan, production lines of German companies are standing still.
After the corona lockdowns in China interrupted the supply chains in spring and the strict zero-Covid policy is still slowing down the second largest economy, a lack of electricity is now making production more difficult again.
Hildebrandt is reminded of the past year "when the energy shortage dragged on into November".
At that time, German companies had to forego 20 to 30 percent of their electricity requirements, which brought production to a standstill over a large area.
The topic is extremely sensitive for China's government, since since the chaos at the time, high government officials have repeatedly promised to avoid power shortages this year at all costs.
Coal-fired power plants are now running at full speed to compensate for the loss of hydropower caused by the drought.
In Sichuan, the 67 local coal-fired power plants produce 50 percent more electricity than their planned capacity, state media reports.
The boost to coal-fired power generation has raised concerns from climate advocates.
As the world's largest producer of carbon dioxide, China's efforts to reduce fossil fuel use are critical to the global fight against global warming.
The most populous country still gets two-thirds of its electricity from coal anyway.
"The Chinese government is under massive pressure," said AHK boss Hildebrandt.
"With weakening economic growth and ambitious climate neutrality goals, balancing energy security and decarbonization is becoming increasingly difficult."
The National Weather Bureau again warned of extremely high temperatures in 16 provinces in central and southern China.
Electricity has been rationed for the 81 million inhabitants and industrial companies in Sichuan for more than a week.
Normally, 82 percent of the province's energy comes from hydroelectric power, but the level of the reservoirs has dropped sharply due to the drought.
Electricity production from hydroelectric power has fallen by half while demand from air conditioners has skyrocketed in the heat.
In central China's Hubei province, the water level in the Yangtze River has reached its lowest level since records began in 1865.
To save electricity, air conditioners are turned down in many metropolises, and lights and escalators are switched off.
The provincial government in Zhejiang issued an emergency plan in early August that required companies to shut down production one to two days a week.
Similar measures were taken in Jiangsu.
German companies were also affected.
In Shanghai, companies complained about power supply interruptions lasting several hours last week.
German companies in Sichuan and Chongqing have been affected by savings since July, some of which also mean production stops.
Automotive suppliers are particularly affected, as reported by the Chamber of Commerce.
In a survey published in January 2022, 15 percent of German companies in China named the lack of availability of energy as "one of their top three operational challenges".
For China's government, supplying private households and public institutions has priority.
Because of the forced shutdowns, the ailing industrial production could continue to suffer.
In any case, the economy is not picking up again after the lockdowns in spring.
Reasons are not only the ongoing zero-Covid restrictions, but also the severe crises in the real estate and banking sectors.
In the second quarter, growth in China had only reached 0.4 percent.
The government had actually set a target of 5.5 percent for this year, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) only expects 3.3 percent.