Small firms caught in China’s prolonged energy crunch are turning to diesel generators, or simply shutting shop, as coal industry officials voiced fears about stockpiles ahead of winter and manufacturing shrank in the world’s no. 2 economy. Beijing is scrambling to deliver more coal to utilities to restore supply as the northeast grapples with its worst power outages in years , particularly the three provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin, home to nearly 100 million people. Gao Lai, who runs an industrial laundry service in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, said he was losing money after the power crunch forced him to hire a diesel generator. “We can afford it for just four days, but if it’s for longer, then the costs are too much, so we can’t survive,” he told Reuters. “We are willing to make it work because the country needs […]