China's demand for electricity rose in the first quarter of this year as the economy continued to roar, according to a report from the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) on Friday.

China consumed 719 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first quarter of 2007, up 15 percent year on year, or 3 percentage points, more than the growth a year ago.

In the first three months of the year, power supply and demand were basically balanced across the country, except in western Sichuan Province and central Hubei Province.

Despite rising electricity demand, the country's generators worked an average of 5,221 hours in 2006, down 203 hours from the previous year.

Power supply will be better guaranteed at the end of 2007 when additional generators with a combined capacity of 95 million kilowatts go into operation, bringing China's installed power capacity to 700 million kilowatts.

The volume of China's power market totaled 39 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first quarter, up 14.3 percent.

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