Shanghai has ordered mandatory power cuts for 1,700 companies, mainly state-owned enterprises, this summer to conserve electricity in a move expected to relieve anticipated shortages.
Other firms, including foreign companies, would send their workers on holiday for set periods and stagger working hours to off-peak times, officials from the Shanghai Economic Commission told a meeting of foreign companies earlier this week.
At a separate news conference yesterday, the commission's deputy director, Wang Jian , said more than 3,000 companies would offer employees holidays to save energy.
Some foreign companies have already experienced surprise power outages, and many are worried more shortages could affect production.
Speculation has spread that Shanghai has drawn up a list of companies that would be guaranteed power supply, but officials have declined to confirm or deny whether such a list exists.
Mandatory power cuts for the 1,700 companies would start in mid-June and continue until September 17, officials said. The move comes as Shanghai braces for a power shortfall of up to 4 million kilowatts this summer.
