The Chinese Communist Party’s ban on Australian coal may be backfiring after reports from China indicate power shortages are plaguing the Asian nation as it heads into the winter months. Reports from China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo and The Australian have noted that seven provinces, including Shanghai, Hunan, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, and Inner Mongolia, have been told to limit their power usage after electricity rationing was introduced. Residents in these provinces have been told to “orderly use” electricity, and not turn on heating until the temperature drops below 3 degrees Celcius, or 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Netizens in cities like Changsha in Hunan province have told of having to climb 20 to 30 floors to get to work after elevators were turned off to save power. The electricity rationing comes after China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that China had increased domestic coal production by 1.5 percent since last year. There has also been a decrease in coal …