2011-01-12 17:38

BEIJING -- Power supply has been restored and remains stable in China's cold snap-battered southern provinces and regions by 11 am Tuesday, said the country's top economic planner on Wednesday.

Ice covered 56 above-35-kilovolt transmission lines in regions where State Grid Corp of China (SGCC) is in charge of power supply. By Monday, the company had sent 1,241 workers and 198 vehicles to repair damaged lines to keep power supply stable, said the National Development and Reform Commission in a statement on its website.

Transmission resumed on 875 lines, out of the 922 lines that stopped supplying regions where China Southern Power Grid looks after power. By 11 am Tuesday, power supply was restored in 101 of the 104 villages in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces that suffered power failure due to the icy weather and freezing rain, said the statement.

SGCC looks over power supply in 26 provinces, municipalities and regions including Beijing and Shanghai. China Southern Power Grid is in charge of electricity supply in five provinces and regions including Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hainan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

China's meteorological authorities have said freezing weather and icy rain will continue to hit south China over the next three days, adding to the region's transport misery.

Persistent icy weather has wreaked havoc in south China, disrupting traffic and damaging power facilities. This year's freeze, however, is unlikely to cause as much chaos as that in January 2008, weather experts say.