Power restored to Changxing Island

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-7-4  |     ONLINE EDITION

SHANGHAI'S power authority restored power to homes and businesses on Changxing Island late yesterday evening after a cable connecting Chongming Island was short circuited, Eastday.com reported today.

The Shanghai Municipal Electric Company confirmed the blackout that occurred on Wednesday morning was caused by ``external factors.''

The company officials said they found paint had dropped onto the cable and this melted two 110-kilovolt cables above the Yangtze River, 2.5 kilometers from the island's southern coast

Rough waters and bad weather hampered efforts to reach the wires, but the company succeeded in completing the rush repairs after more than 30 hours.

"About 150 experienced repair staff and seven boats were dispatched to the scene,'' an official told the Website. ``We started to provide electricity at 8pm and the power supply to all island users was restored at 10:43pm.''