China power consumption weakens on economic slowdown

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-17 20:10

BEIJING - Power consumption in China weakened further in September because of slowing economic growth, according to the China Electricity Council on Friday.

Electricity use for the first nine months rose 9.67 percent to 2.627 trillion kwh from a year earlier. The consumption growth rate was down from 10.19 percent from January through August.

Industry, which accounts for 76 percent of power usage, reported it used 9.31 percent more power in the first three quarters than the period a year earlier. The rate was 7.47 percentage points lower than last year.

The slower pace was attributed to slackening demand as the economy slowed, and factory closures and production shutdowns during the Olympic Games period, according to Citic Securities.

Power companies with generation capacity of at least 6,000 kw produced 2.607 trillion kwh in the first nine months, up 9.9 percent from the same period last year, the slowest pace in six years.

Coal-fired power firms generated 2.143 trillion kwh, up 8.2 percent from a year ago; hydropower generators produced 398.39 billion kwh, up 17 percent; and nuclear power companies generated 50.97 billion kwh, up 14.3 percent.

Coal-fired power companies reported a 16.7 percent surge in power generation in the first three quarters last year. The slower growth this year was also attributed to the high cost of thermal coal and temporary government curbs on electricity prices.