Beijingers have been urged to think twice before they use electrical devices, as the capital will be short of power Thursday.

The Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission issued its first ever warning Wednesday on the electricity situation in the capital.

A yellow alert in the commission's warning system means that there will be a supply shortfall of 300,000 kilowatts, according to a source at the commission.

In a yellow alert, various government departments and enterprises are required to reduce their electricity consumption.

Government organs should use energy-saving lamps, according to requirements by the municipal government.

The temperature of air conditioners in the offices of government departments have been ordered to be increased by 1 or 2 C to around 26 C.

Industrial enterprises are being urged to arrange their working hours when residential consumption of electricity is less frequent, for example, at night.

They are also required to use more energy-saving facilities and enhance efficiency.

Other sectors, such as agriculture and hotels are also involved in the city-wide campaign.

Local residents are also being urged to save electricity today.

A yellow is the lowest level of warning, followed by orange indicating that Beijing has an electricity of shortfall of between 300,000 and 700,000 kilowatts.

Government organizations are required to adopt measures to control their electricity consumption.

Residents are advised to increase the temperature of their air conditioners.

Red is the highest level of alert, which means the city's electricity supply is in a serious state, meaning that the electricity shortfall is greater than 700,000 kilowatts.

Emergency measures will be adopted during a red alert.

Apart from government departments and enterprises, residents are advised to cut electricity consumption, for example by turning off their air conditioners for an hour.

The early warning level is fixed by two indices -- the next day's predicted maximum electricity consumption figure and the electricity supply quota provided by the North China Electric Network Company, said a commission source.

The source added that the release of electricity condition indices to the public helps enterprises arrange their electricity consumption plan in advance and be prepared for possible peaks in electricity consumption.

On the other hand, residents are also informed of the upcoming electricity shortages and will then be able to adopt measures to save electricity.

Although Autumn started on August 7 on the Chinese lunar calendar, Beijing has suffered from high temperatures and high humidity over the past few days, resulting in continued massive electricity consumption.

For example, the electricity consumption in Beijing reached 9.2 million kilowatts on Monday morning, 80,000 kilowatts more than the electricity usage quota.

(China Daily August 12, 2004)