The record for power consumption in Beijing was refreshed again on Tuesday as the city swelters under high humidity that makes high temperatures feel even hotter.

At 11:25 AM, a record high power load of 10.81 million kilowatts lit up the big screen at the Beijing Electric Power Corporation.

The previous record set last year was 10.65 million kilowatts.

"Although the temperature in Beijing was only 32 Celsius degrees today, the humidity is rather high. Many citizens can't stand the muggy weather so naturally more air-conditioners were working today," said Gan Yinhui, vice director of the corporation's production technology section.

Beijing Power did not take any measures to limit or reduce the power supply on Tuesday.

The city's power grid is stable and no equipment is overloaded, said Gan.

Gan said the power load capacity of Beijing's grid is much improved from last year thanks to a series of new power supply projects.

He said Beijing completed 74 power projects before June 30 including 10 220-kv power transmission and transformation projects and 13 110-kv power transmission and transformation projects.

"Judging from our experience, the peak power load will occur every August. The weather forecast calls for muggy days to continue in the capital so this record might soon be broken," Gan said.

The corporation estimates that Beijing's peak power load could hit 12.2 million kilowatts sometime this summer.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2006)