Six transformer sub-stations shut down and five power plants were disconnected from the power grid after a major earthquake in southwestern Sichuan Province on Monday, State Grid said in Beijing.

The load on the Sichuan grid was reduced by 4 million kilovolts, State Grid told Xinhua.

A 500-KV transformer sub-station and five 220-KV ones in Sichuan were affected, it said, along with five power plants in western Sichuan.

A series of aftershocks had made it difficult to contact these sites for a detailed damage report, the company said.

Meanwhile, two 220-KV transformer sub-stations and three power plants in neighboring northwestern Shaanxi Province also shut down, reducing the load by 1.5 million KV.

The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, jolted Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2008)