Guangzhou (AsiaNews/SCMP) – The Power Supply Bureau of the southern city of Guangzhou has ordered consumers to cut use of electricity in "peak periods" by 50% to avoid blackouts like those that recently deprived five municipal districts of power supply for several hours.

The order affects thousands of residences and offices and reflects the gravity of the energy problem of the province, which is China's most developed. For more than two years, the city has been struggling with a shortage of power supply: so far, the only measure taken has been to ration supply.

The main districts – housing the most important offices – have not been affected by blackouts but the government was forced to cut supplies to Tianhe, Yuexiu, Liwan, Baiyun and Haizhu districts from mid-morning on 13 July when the temperature was 37°.

The Bureau said all businesses, residents and factories would be affected equally if they were connected to the same transmission cable. "The main reason for the cut is that it was too hot. At 10am it was already 37 degrees. The high temperature put pressure on the network. To ensure safety and to prevent the network from breaking down, we were forced to stop supply," it said.

"If no urgent action is taken to expand and build new substations, the electricity supply problem will grow more critical." But the stations needed to solve the problem cannot be built: there is not enough space and for health reasons residents are against stations near residential areas.