Watt’s the catch?

There’s buzz going around the power industry, and it has nothing to do with electricity.

Word that Nosy Tarsee sniffed up is that the scion of a power magnate, who’s now running the family’s energy empire, was recently on the receiving end of a very shiny gift from a Chinese tech giant: a brand new car. And not just any car. It reportedly came with what is billed as the fastest battery charger around, installed in the young executive’s home.

Generous? Certainly. Coincidental? That’s what industry watchers are asking.

Our little bird points out that the scion’s company happens to be a major supplier of a key raw material in battery manufacturing, which is precisely whom a company in the electric vehicle and battery race would want a good relationship with. In business, as in love, nobody sends flowers without expecting something in return.

The Chinese firm in question, sources say, is Huawei.

Power insiders insist they’re not accusing anyone of anything. They’re simply asking, popcorn in hand, what is the quid pro quo? Or is it just a very expensive gesture of goodwill with no strings attached, the kind of thing that happens every day in boardrooms?

One industry observer put it this way: “When someone installs a gift charger at home, the next thing to watch for is who’s being plugged in at the office.”