Because of the heat, 5 million people in China suffer from power cuts
More than five million people in southwest China faced blackouts on Wednesday, as a heat wave caused an electricity supply crisis that forced factories to stop working.
The temperature across Sichuan Province has exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in recent days, causing a high demand for air conditioners.
Although the region relies heavily on dams to generate electricity, the heat has caused water tanks to dry up, exacerbating the energy crisis.
A local power company said Dazhou, a city of 5.4 million people in the northeast of the province, would receive intermittent supply on Wednesday, according to The Paper, a Shanghai-based online media outlet.
The newspaper added, quoting the Dasho Electric Power Group, that residents will face a power outage of up to three hours, and the period may be extended if necessary.
Factories in Sichuan, including a joint venture with Japanese automaker Toyota, were forced to shut down after government officials said they would prioritize residential areas over access to electricity over commercial operations.
A Toyota spokeswoman told AFP that the company suspended work at a plant in Chengdu on Monday, in compliance with the directives of the authorities.
She added that the government's instructions apply to all companies in the region, but declined to comment on the impact on Toyota's operations.
Also, "Contour Amperex Technology", the largest manufacturer of electric car batteries in the world, stopped production in the city of Yibin, according to Chinese media.
Sichuan produces half of the lithium produced in China that is used in electric car batteries, and its hydropower projects provide electricity to major industrial centers along the country's east coast.
But 19 of the province's 21 cities were asked to halt industrial production until Saturday, according to a notice issued over the weekend.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news