Humid Beijing sets new record in power consumption (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-08-09 10:08
BEIJING -- The record for power consumption in Beijing was refreshed again on
Tuesday as the city swelters under high humidity that makes high temperatures
feel even hotter.
At 11:25 a.m., a record high power load of 10.81 million kilowatts lit up the
big screen at the Beijing Electric Power Corporation.
The previous record set last year was 10.65 million kilowatts.
"Although the temperature in Beijing was only 32 Celsius degrees today, the
humidity is rather high. Many citizens can't stand the muggy weather so
naturally more air-conditioners were working today," said Gan Yinhui, vice
director of the corporation's production technology section.
Beijing Power did not take any measures to limit or reduce the power supply
on Tuesday.
The city's power grid is stable and no equipment is overloaded, said Gan.
Gan said the power load capacity of Beijing's grid is much improved from last
year thanks to a series of new power supply projects.
He said Beijing completed 74 power projects before June 30 including 10
220-kv power transmission and transformation projects and 13 110-kv power
transmission and transformation projects.
"Judging from our experience, the peak power load will occur every August.
The weather forecast calls for muggy days to continue in the capital so this
record might soon be broken," Gan said.
The corporation estimates that Beijing's peak power load could hit 12.2
million kilowatts sometime this summer.
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