How does energy supply affect firm production behavior?-Evidence from the product level

Ensuring a consistent and dependable energy supply will exert a positive influence on production levels. Furthermore, improvements in enterprise production efficiency can be expressed as changes in product mix. The implementation of the West-East Gas Transmission (WEGT) Project is of great significance for enhancing the clean energy supply capacity and production efficiency of enterprises along the route. In this paper, we investigate how variations in energy supply influence the production behavior of firms at the product level. The results indicate that: (1) The WEGT Project has the potential to significantly optimize the energy use structure of enterprises. (2) The enhanced efficiency is evidenced by the reduction in the product range of enterprises, which tends to retain the core products and eliminate those within the regulatory scope, thereby ultimately improving the environment along the route. The study demonstrates that through the construction of infrastructure for promoting enterprise-wide optimization of energy structures and production efficiency, economic efficiency can be achieved without compromising environmental protection and social responsibility. The study discussed can serve as a valuable reference for the thorough evaluation of energy dispatching strategies.