Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, is facing an electric load shortfall of 1 million kilowatts due to prolonged bad weather and post-festival higher demand of power by local companies.

Severe winter weather damaged transmission lines that bring power from central Hunan and southwestern Guizhou provinces. At present, the city's power load is about 5 million kW, but the summer peak last year was 9.28 million kW, said a spokesman of the provincial power supply bureau on Monday.

Priority is being given to restoring residential customers.

Effective immediately, all energy-intensive enterprises and heavy pollutant producers have had service suspended. Users of power lines of 110 kilovolts or more must reduce production capacity by half, according to the city's plan for the first quarter. Large industries were also required to cut output by 30 percent, according to the plan.

Most enterprises in Guangzhou reopened after the Spring Festival holiday, which contributed to soaring power demand, the spokesman added.

The bureau had sent nearly 800 workers to repair damaged electricity facilities in Guizhou and northern Guangdong, said the spokesman.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2008)