(Yicai Global) Aug. 16 -- Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, said a six-day halt at its plant in Chengdu as a result of power rationing due to extreme temperatures limiting Sichuan province’s hydropower generation will have little impact on the world’s biggest Apple supplier.

The stoppage that began yesterday will hardly affect Foxconn, The Paper reported the same day, citing the Taiwan-based contract manufacturer. The plant in the provincial capital has been operational since 2010 and mainly assembles Apple watches, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, it added.

To ease the electricity shortage and prioritize households, high energy-consuming companies were asked to temporarily close to save about 7 million kilowatts of power at an emergency meeting yesterday, according to Sichuan Daily.

Sichuan has been in a heat wave since last month, causing a water drought and a surge in power demand to keep cooling systems running, the boss of State Grid Sichuan Electric Power said at the meeting, leading to a slump in hydropower generation and extremely tight short-term supply

In addition to Foxconn, a number of other listed companies have been affected by the power use curbs. Tongwei, a Chengdu-based photovoltaic materials manufacturer, told Yicai Global yesterday that it had received notice and is in contact with the relevant authorities about the plan to adjust the power load.

Chemicals maker Sichuan Lutianhua, pesticide producer Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical, and metals processor Henan Zhongfu Industrial have also recently issued statements announcing temporary production halts because of power rationing in Sichuan.

This summer’s extreme heat has also hit other Chinese provinces. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui in eastern China are also curbing power use or have asked industrial firms to stagger their working hours, Yicai Global learned.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione