Over 30 pct of China's expressway charging piles to operate at full capacity during upcoming holiday

Over one-third of charging piles in expressway service areas across the country will operate at full capacity during the upcoming eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, officials said.

Outbound charging peak during the upcoming holiday is concentrated on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to data from the State Grid Corporation of China（SGCC）.

Charging vehicles began to increase from 13:00, with the peak occurring from 22:00 to 24:00 on Tuesday. While the number on Wednesday will increase from 07:00, with the peak period from 10:00 to 19:00.

For the return journey, peak charging demand is expected on October 6 and October 7.   In terms of expressways, charging piles along the Shenyang-Haikou, Changchun-Shenzhen, and Beijing-Shanghai expressways are the busiest. Regionally, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces are expected to see record-high expressway charging volumes, with over 720,000 new energy vehicles traveling daily in Jiangsu alone.

"In response to tidal traffic flow, we have deployed 32 mobile charging facilities at 30 key busy service areas along expressways like Beijing-Shanghai and Shenyang-Haikou, and launched tiered preferential strategies for different charging times to guide vehicles for off-peak charging and divert traffic flow," said Yang Lijia, head of the monitoring team at State Grid Jiangsu Electric Vehicle Service Co.

SGCC has also selected 5,667 key support stations nationwide for pre-inspection and fault elimination to ensure efficient and convenient travel for new energy vehicle owners during the holiday. 

"From September 29 to October 8, we are exploring offering coupons to users who charge their vehicles to 80 percent to 90 percent at highway stations, guiding them to avoid long trickle charging. This uses technical and economic means to reduce average charging time per vehicle and guides owners to charge at urban stations near highway exits, alleviating pressure on service areas," said Shi Shuanglong, director of platform monitoring center at State Grid Smart Internet of Vehicles Co.

Over 30 pct of China's expressway charging piles to operate at full capacity during upcoming holiday

U.S. economic activity rose slightly in most districts, with three regions reporting no changes and one region experiencing a moderate decline, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book released on Thursday.

This indicates an improvement compared to the last three reporting periods, during which most regions reported little change in economic activity, according to the Beige Book.

It shows that the outlook for future activity is mildly optimistic, with most expecting slight to modest growth in the coming months.

Most banks reported that the consumer spending went up slightly over the holiday season, buoyed by strong spending from higher-income consumers. Employment was mostly unchanged in the most recent period, with eight of the twelve districts reporting no changes in hiring. Prices grew at a moderate rate across a large majority of districts, with only two districts reporting slight price growth, the survey said.

Cost pressures resulting from tariffs were a consistent theme across all districts, it said.

The Beige Book, officially known as the Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District, is a survey on economic conditions based on information collected from its 12 regional reserve banks. It is published eight times per year.

US economic activity shows moderate growth amid inflation pressure: Fed Beige Book