More electric power will be transmitted to Shanghai next year to meet demand during the World Expo period, according to the city's power authority.

Construction of the Sichuan-Shanghai power grid is expected to be finished this year and the city will receive 6,400 megawatts of new capacity from Xiangjia Dam Hydraulic Power Station on the Jinsha River in Sichuan Province from next March. The city's current capacity is 24,100 megawatts.

The power from Sichuan will be transmitted to transformer stations in Shanghai's Fengxian District and distributed to other areas of the city.

"The electricity from Xiangjia Dam will improve the city's power supply structure," said Shanghai Electric Power Co Ltd spokesman Wang Changxing.

Wang said that the current power grid couldn't cover demand in the southern part of the city.

Meanwhile, construction of two 800-kilovolt transformer stations, in Fengxian, will be finished this year.

"We have power transmitted from other provinces to Baoshan, Yangpu, Songjiang and Minhang districts, but the present network can not pass the electricity everywhere, especially to southern areas of the city," Wang said. "The new transformer stations will largely improve the situation."

After decades of construction, the city's power network has already become one of the world's largest regional networks. However, it still struggles to meet demand due to a construction boom in the run-up to the 2010 World Expo and during heat waves when residents crank up air conditioners.

With the 6,400 megawatts from Sichuan, the city's power capacity will rise to 30,500 megawatts.

The power load peaked at 23,800 megawatts on July 20, when the temperature hit 40 degrees Celsius.

(Shanghai Daily August 14, 2009)