Reuters
August 17, 2006

Soaring temperatures and the worst drought in more than 50 years have strained power grids in southwestern China and caused blackouts in at least one city in the east of the country.

Beijing: Soaring temperatures and the worst drought in over 50 years have strained power grids in southwestern China and caused blackouts in at least one city in the east, state media reported on Thursday. Electricity generators have struggled in recent years to match demand during hot months when power-guzzling air-conditioning is turned on, but a slew of new capacity meant there had been hardly any problems reported this summer. But Hangzhou, capital of coastal Zhejiang province, cut its power supply on Tuesday to avoid breakdown of a key transmission line after power consumption climbed nearly a quarter higher than a year earlier, the Shanghai Daily reported. … Neighbouring provinces struggling to keep their own lights on and engines running had no spare power to offer.