Olympics Fever brewing- can you take the heat?

Olympics Fever brewing- can you take the heat?

Beijing is stepping up the construction of power networks to ensure a stable electricity supply during the 2008 Olympic Games where the demand is expected to hit a record level.Electricity consumption in the city may reach up to 15 million kilowatts during the event next August.The maximum power load during the period will reach 35 million kilowatt in the Jingjintang Grid which supplies power to Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan in neighbouring Hebei Province.

North China Power Grid has invested 17.2 billion yuan in power grid construction and rebuilding projects since last year. Construction of nine 500 kv transformer substations around Beijing are scheduled to be completed before the event.Electricity demand in Beijing fluctuates with climate changes and the city greatly relies on power imported from other areas.

With the world crooning a fresh green tune, China, the world’s second largest energy consumer is humming. In preparation for the Olympics 2008, massive construction projects are initiated, consuming and polluting inexorably, and the average citizen would have to take the heat, literally.

Chinese people have been told to go easy on the air-conditioning to reduce energy consumption and office workers have been advised to wear light, casual clothes rather than formal suits.The State Council also issued a circular, banning temperatures lower than 26 degrees in all air-conditioned public buildings in China.

While we all play an active role in nation building, polluting and consuming an integral part of it, would we be able to stomach the heat should similar policies be introduced here?