Beijing's power consumption amounted to a record high of 10.58 million kilowatts Wednesday for the first time this year, nearing the city's power safety limits, said an official with the municipal power company.

He predicted that the consumption is expected to rise to 10.75 million kilowatts Thursday.An emergency plan will be initiated for enterprises to take work rotations, which is expected to cut down the consumption by 350,000 kilowatts.

Beijing Vice Mayor Zhang Mao said that 10.60 million kilowatts is the ceiling for the municipality, above which the operation of the power grids would become unsteady.

With temperatures frequently topping 38 degrees Celsius since June, energy consumption has been pushed to new highs as more units and families turned on their air conditioners, which accounted for one third of the total energy consumption of Beijing.

More than 60,000 enterprises have taken breaks on rotations and arranged overhaul to avoid surging energy consumption, which resulted in cutting down 360,000 kilowatts of electricity consumption Wednesday.

Li Yifan, general manager of the Beijing Power Company, said his company would enhance inspection of enterprises to ensure that they implement the emergency power consumption plan.

His company has also called for all businesses to avoid the peak hour electricity consumption to ensure safe operation of the power grids.

Source: Xinhua