Drunk Chinese power station boss ‘causes blackout’

A DRUNK power station manager caused a blackout following a bar brawl in eastern China.

The South China Morning Post reports that thousands of homes and businesses were without power for up to six hours in part of the Henan province, after a group of power plant workers took issue with staff at a nearby karaoke bar.

The employees reportedly smashed up the bar after being refused free drinks, with one of the official threatening to ‘unleash the wrath of the electric tiger’ (a name for the state electricity system) by cutting power to the bar.

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The group had already finished several beers and ‘several bottles of expensive liquor’ during their stint in the bar, the newspaper said.

Bar staff claim they heard one of the men - who had self-identified as the power plant’s boss - making a telephone call, asking for the power plant to be shut down for repairs.

Minutes later, ‘half the county was plunged into darkness’, according to the South China Morning Post, who cited the Xinhua news agency as saying between 3,000 and 5,000 families and businesses had been without power.

The state-owned Hebi City Electricity Supply Company has apologised for the incident, saying it would draw ‘profound lessons’ from the incident.

The firm also confirmed that Yang Shuseng, chief of the Zhaoge Township Power Supply Station had been fired, while another employee, Wang Haixiao, had been suspended for two years.

Others involved were given fines and warnings while the general manager and party secretary of the electricity administration in Qi county were reprimanded and fined 5,000 yuan each.

The Beijing News reports that those involved could still face legal sanctions, as per the national Electricity Law and regulations governing power supplies.

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