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HONG KONG: Macau's casinos may be flourishing, but their surging demand for power is draining the tiny city's electricity supply, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.
Electricity consumption in the southern Chinese territory jumped 17.6 percent in the first five months of 2007, the paper said, citing figures from the government and Macau's sole electricity provider.
More than half the city's electricity is now imported from southern China, up from 15 percent two years ago, it said.
Macau's gaming industry has rocketed since a 2001 law stripped tycoon Stanley Ho of his 40-year monopoly on casino operations in the former Portuguese enclave.
The move attracted Las Vegas giants Sands, Wynn and MGM, whose new glitzy casino-hotel complexes transformed the sector, ushering in an era of massive growth.
Last year, Macau used 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), up 37 percent from 2003, before the opening of Sands Macau casino, which started the gaming boom. Electricity consumption is expected to exceed 4.3 billion kWh in 2010.
Macau has suffered several major power cuts in recent months, some caused by construction work damage to cables, and an outage in May disrupted a prime business area there.
To ease the soaring power demand, a third electricity cable between Macau and Guangdong province in south China was launched last month and will increase importing capacity to 60 percent. A fourth cable will launch later this year, the paper said.
- AFP/so
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