Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai's power authorities have sent electricity generators and three teams to the provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan and Zhejiang to help fast-track supplies to the snow-hit regions.

About 500 engineers and technicians from the Shanghai Electric Power Co are expected to gather at Jinhua in Zhejiang tomorrow to repair up to 20 kilometers of damaged lines and 19 pylons that have collapsed under the weight of ice and snow.

The team sent to Jiangxi has worked in the province's hardest-hit rural regions for a week. According to He Luzhong, the team's chief, team members have to put hot water in plastic bags to warm their feet.

"We spent only 30 minutes celebrating the Chinese New Year last Thursday by eating instant noodles and drinking tea in the evening and went back to work immediately,'' he said. "No one complained about the tough task and poor environment. We are fully aware of the responsibility on our shoulders and will try our best to have supplies restored as soon as possible."

The team going to Hunan's Chenzhou, the city suffering the worst snow damage, is cooperating with regional officials and electricians to have power resumed step by step. All lines connecting inter-provincial networks in Chenzhou were damaged, while power lines inside the city were also knocked out.

"One local official told us that one lamp doesn't usually have any significant meaning, but that now each lamp is important to lighten people's minds," said Chen Xinsheng, a team leader.