The southern region of China is currently experiencing an unprecedented heatwave, where temperatures have soared to record highs for more than 70 days in a row. This has led a power crisis as demand for electricity has also soared to record highs.
As a result, Tesla has shut down some of its Superchargers in Chengdu and Chongqing.
According to a report by Bloomberg, more than a dozen Superchargers in the two cities have either been turned of or had their services restricted. Local media report that just two are still in operation and only during late night hours when electricity demand is lowest.
It is not just Tesla that has been affected. Rival EV automaker Nio has also notified owners through its mobile app that some battery swap stations in Chengdu are also offline due to “severe overload on the grid under persisting high temperatures.”
While the power crunch has not affected Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai directly, it has impacted some of their suppliers. The government had restricted industrial use of electricity from August 15 to August 20 in Sichuan’s key industrial hubs.
That measure was extended on August 21, after Tesla sought help from authorities to support power supplies for their suppliers.
