Free Republic

As the country contends with a cold wave that has left at least two people dead from hypothermia, Israel Electric reported this week that demand for electricity hit an all-time winter high of 9,900 megawatts late Sunday evening. This prompted fears among consumers that IE may initiate a series of rolling blackouts to prevent the power system from shutting down. "I have a newborn baby at home and the thought of losing power in this cold weather is very unnerving," said one IE customer. Caught off-guard by an early wave of extremely hot weather in June 2006, IE was compelled...

Hundreds die from the coldWed, Jan. 08, 2003 9:18 AM ETBy the Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Nearly 400 people have died of cold in Bangladesh and northern India in the past 10 days as temperatures plummeted and cold winds swept in from the Himalayas, officials and news reports said Wednesday. The cold sweeping across northern Bangladesh caused 60 deaths this week, raising the toll to 260, media reports said. Temperatures dipped into the 30s and 40s Fahrenheit - dangerous levels in impoverished India and Bangladesh, where millions of people live without heat, electricity and warm clothing. At least...