SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s Sichuan province will extend curbs on industrial power consumers until Aug. 25 as it tries to deal with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand following a long heatwave, financial news service Caixin said.
Sichuan, a major hydropower generator, already imposed consumption restrictions on industry from Aug. 15 to Aug. 20, but extended the curbs for another five days on Sunday as temperatures continued to linger at around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), Caixin said.
It cited firms in the battery industry as saying that industrial power users in the cities of Yibin and Suining had been told to remain closed until Thursday.
A Sichuan-based pesticide producer, Lier Chemical Co Ltd, also confirmed in a notice on Monday that output restrictions at two of its production bases in the province would continue until Aug. 25.
State weather forecasters issued a heat “red alert” for the 11th consecutive day on Monday, but said temperatures could start to decline on Wednesday as a cold front moves into China via the region of Xinjiang.
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Kim Coghill)
