May 15, 2008 -- Monday's Sichuan earthquake damaged power plants and power lines, taking out a 5.5 gigawatts of power generating capacity, according to the State Grid Corp of China.

State Grid, China's dominant grid operator, said its main network is stable and that the affected capacity is being gradually restored, although it didn't give a timetable, reported the state-owned Shanghai Daily newspaper.

In response, China's State Electricity Regulatory Commission declared a first-class emergency, the newswire said.