Sichuan province began limiting electricity supply to homes, offices and malls on Wednesday.
More than five million people in southwest China were facing rolling power cuts Wednesday (Aug 17) as a heatwave creates an electricity supply crunch that has forced factories to stop work.
Temperatures across Sichuan province have surpassed 40 degrees Celsius in recent days, causing demand for air conditioning to spike.
The region also relies heavily on dams to generate its electricity but the heat has caused reservoirs to dry up, exacerbating the energy shortage.
Sichuan began limiting electricity supply to homes, offices and malls on Wednesday, according to state media and one power company.
Residential areas, offices and shopping malls in Dazhou, a city of 5.4 million people, were informed of rotating brownouts each lasting several hours throughout Wednesday, according to the official WeChat account of state-run Dazhou Power Group.
Residential brownouts are rare as China typically limits power supply to industries first to prioritise residential and commercial use in any power squeeze.
In what appears to be an official call to conserve electricity use, government offices were asked to set air conditioners to no lower than 26 degrees Celsius and use more staircases instead of lifts, the provincial government-run Sichuan Daily said in a front-page report on Wednesday.
Fountains, light shows and commercial activities during the night hours are to be suspended, the paper said.
Sichuan, which relies on hydropower to generate 80 per cent its power, on Sunday ordered producers of lithium, fertilisers and other metals to shut plants or curb output amid the worst heatwave in 60 years.
Soaring temperatures and little rain this summer have reduced hydropower generation in the province of 83.75 million people, while also boosting power demand for air conditioning.
Analysts said that if the heatwave persists, the power crunch could spill over to eastern provinces like Zhejiang and Jiangsu which have relied partly on buying electricity from Sichuan.
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