By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-11 15:40

In the first half this year, electricity consumed by the industry in China totaled 1.15 trillion kilowatts-hour, up 17.20 percent year-on-year, and 3.91 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to statistics from the China Electricity Council, People's Daily reported

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Electricity consumption in the heavy industry rose 18.84 percent year-on-year, up 0.74 percentage points from the first quarter this year. Meanwhile, the light industry used 10.39 percent more electricity than a year before, and 1.1 percentage points less than the first quarter.

In terms of regional electricity consumption, the growth in those provinces in central and western China outpaced the national average level, suggesting rapid economic development there, especially in the heavy industry.

Furthermore, as electric power consumption climbs to new highs in this summer, there might be short supply in certain areas, with Guangdong Province facing the most serious deficiency.