People crossing a street in Guangzhou city, Guangdong province, China.
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Southern China’s industrial and oil-refining cities are urging businesses and citizens to curb electricity, but Hainan will reduce peak power usage as the continued scorching weather strains its power grid. I am calling for you.
Southern China has been plagued by a combination of extreme heat and torrential rains in recent weeks, with surges in air conditioning demand pushing power loads in some cities near historic highs.
Maoming city in southern Guangdong province saw a 8.01% increase in electricity consumption from January to May, with residential electricity consumption in May increasing by 27.41% year-on-year, the city government announced. Monday.
The oil-refining city, whose power load has broken three records as of Monday, urged industrial enterprises to actively reduce power consumption and step up the transformation of power-saving technologies.
State-owned enterprises, residents and commercial establishments also suggested setting cooling temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit), the statement said.
Jiangmen, another industrial city in Guangdong, is also proposing to cut unnecessary electricity use amid peak electricity consumption.
Meanwhile, in Hainan province, government officials have announced plans to call for reductions in peak power usage as power usage increases in the coming weeks. Electricity consumption rose 11.8% from January to April compared to the same period last year, officials said.
Hainan’s power load also exceeded 7 million kilowatts for the first time in early June.
Earlier this month, power loads in major manufacturing hubs in the south, including Guangdong, rose to historic highs. Output at China Southern Power Grid, one of China’s two grid operators, reached 222 million kilowatts, approaching a historic high.
China was hit by a record heat wave and drought last year, resulting in major power shortages and rationing of electricity usage to aluminum producers in areas such as Yunnan.
China’s northern regions are expected to experience sweltering weather over the next few days, state media said, citing the Chinese Meteorological Authority.
