energy crisis here now

3 Days of coal left in parts of China. CNN Reporting Today:

It is the second time in three months that Chinese power plants have run short of coal, an unintended effect of government-mandated price controls -- a throwback to communist central planning -- to shield the public from rising global energy costs.

Some 32 power plants have already shut down due to lack of fuel, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a report. It said two were in Sichuan province, where last week's magnitude 7.9 quake damaged the power supply grid.

In February, freak snowstorms caught power plants without adequate coal supplies, causing blackouts and factory shutdowns in a country that relies on coal for 70% of its electricity.