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The power’s for the computers, as office workers long for heaters in China’s frigid front

蘋果日報 2020/12/30 18:11


Office workers in China are having to endure temperatures of as low as -4 degrees Celsius at the workplace, where electricity caps mean that the only equipment plugged into the power sockets are the computers.
Internet chat rooms were abuzz with gripes about how electricity and natural gas companies in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, sent out emergency notices this week warning of shutdowns in the supply of power and natural gas in Lugu High-tech Industrial Park to control usage. The affected days were Wednesday to New Year’s Day on Friday. Companies operating in the industrial park were advised to arrange for their staff to take leave.
Changsha is just one of many cities in China that are largely powerless in the face of electricity cuts in industrial and residential areas day after day despite the cold front. The freezing weather has been enveloping much of eastern and central China, including Zhejiang, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.
China’s Meteorological Administration issued an orange alert on the cold wave on Tuesday as temperatures dropped by 8 to 10 degrees Celsius.
In Changsha, strong gales and the rain combined to bring the mercury down to 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon. The lowest temperature of the day was -4 degrees Celsius.
Netizens were up in arms about having to report for work at the office, where electricity, particularly for the heaters, had been cut.
The Changsha arm of the National Development and Reform Commission suggested that residents not use appliances which were energy guzzlers, including heaters and ovens. Only half of the street lights in Yiyang city were functioning.
Meanwhile, factories in the eastern province of Zhejiang were informed that the electricity restrictions would be implemented until Dec. 31, so all processing plants had to stop operation.
Jiangxi province started limiting power usage during peak periods in the mornings and evenings.
To seize business opportunities arising from the outages, online shopping platforms such as Taobao.com and JD.com were selling solar power panels and electricity generators. It was understood that one store sold 200 such products at around 1,000 yuan (US$153) each.
Chung Kin-man, a veteran mountaineer who was the first Hongkonger to conquer Mount Everest, told Apple Daily that wearing a down jacket with 80% down and 20% feathers was the best way of keeping warm under the extreme cold.
Using a face mask when outdoors, or sleeping in a sleeping bag and wearing a pair of socks, would also help to keep the body warm, he said.
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