China, Technology and the Environment: Power consumption up in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong

In the first half of June/2009, China’s average daily power generation capacity was 9.764 billion kilowatt-hours, down 0.17 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC). In May, the nation’s average daily power generation capacity dropped around 3.5 percent year-on-year.

Power consumption in provinces and municipalities with the highest economic output, including Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong all recorded positive growth.

As a barometer of economic development, power generation capacity can directly reflect the vigor of economic activity. Analysts said that a narrowed decline in power generation capacity implies that power demand is increasing, especially industrial power demand.

The power consumption growth rate in eastern China’s coastal areas is higher than the national average growth. According to the SGCC’s statistics, power consumption is stabilizing and has picked up. The amount of electricity sold by the SGCC between January and May was down by 1.3 percent year-on-year. However power generation capacity between June 1 and 18 has already reversed the downward trend to grow by 5.1 percent year-on-year.

The volume of hydropower in the first half of June grew by 11.81 percent year-on-year while thermoelectricity dropped by 2.93 percent year-on-year. The average daily volume of nuclear power also decreased by 2.39 percent year-on-year.

Of the provincial and municipal grids, power consumption growth rates in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan area, southern Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Sichuan, Jilin, Xinjiang and Tibet were higher than the national average growth.

Guangdong and Guangxi, whose cumulative power generation capacity had successively recorded negative growth has recorded positive growth since June.