China's total installed generating capacity is expected to exceed 500 million
kw in 2005 and the total electricity consumption is estimated at 2.4 trillion
kw/h, said a senior official of the China State Electricity Regulatory
Commission in Beijing Thursday.
At a news briefing, Shi Yubo, vice chairman of the commission, said that an
additional generating capacity of about 65 million kw will be put into operation
this year.
With the improvement in the performance of major power grids nationwide, the
scope and scale of power blackout and supply restriction will see a decline in
2005, he said.
According to him, by the end of 2004, the country's total installed
generating capacity reached 440 million kw and the total electricity generation
for 2004 amounted to 2.187 trillion kw/h, representing a year-on-year increase
of 14.8 percent.
China's total electricity consumption stood at 2.173 trillion kw/h last year,
up 14.9 percent over the previous year.
Ma Kai, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission,
has said China would continue to experience a power shortage this year.
Starting from May 1, China raised the electricity prices for industrial and
commercial users by 0.3 cents per kilowatt-hour in a bid to cope with coal
prices hike.
The coal prices in China have increased continuously since last June and many
electricity generating companies have reported losses.
Due to the rapid growth of economy over the past years, power shortages have
become a major issue in many parts of China. Twenty-four of 31 province-level
regions on the Chinese mainland suffered from power shortages in 2004, compared
with 19 in 2003.
