Chenzhou residents have to collect coal and charcoal to warm themselves, which caused the prices to surge tenfold.

State Grid has sent generators to ensure the operation of hospital, grain depot and waterworks. It also planned to use helicopters in repairing the cables and pylons and could apply for electricity-generating trains.

Meanwhile, to keep the expressways moving, the transport authorities in eastern Zhejiang Province on Tuesday suspended all highway tolls.

The move came after a major north-south trunk road, the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway, returned to normal on Monday after de-icing work by 1,200 troops and police over the past week.

Freaky winter storms have plagued southern China since mid-January, leading to widespread traffic jams, structural collapses, blackouts and crop losses in 19 provinces, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The winter storms have killed more than 80 people, destroyed or damaged 800,000 houses and resulted in economic losses worth of 80 billion yuan, according to figures from the Red Cross Society of China.