Moscow cuts power in record cold

MOSCOW, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- As record cold temperatures moved into Moscow from Siberia, electricity suppliers have ordered power cuts at factories in order to prevent a blackout.

A number of factories were expected to be without power for several hours Tuesday, in order to make up for the expected 10 percent to 15 percent rise in electricity consumption resulting from the cold snap, The Moscow Times reported.

However, residential houses, hospitals, schools, nuclear sites, the police and the subway would continue to be supplied with electricity, officials said.

The temperature in Moscow Tuesday morning was minus 26 Celsius -- nearly minus 15 Fahrenheit.

The country's top health official, Gennady Onishchenko, said Monday that Moscow schools would likely close if temperatures were at minus 25 Celsius or colder for any length of time.

It was not clear Monday whether the city government had ordered any measures to help the homeless survive the cold. Even before temperatures plummeted Monday, five people froze to death in Moscow over the weekend.

Staff at the Moscow Zoo were also preparing for the extreme cold Monday. All of the zoo's approximately 6,000 animals would stay indoors in heated shelters, a spokeswoman said.