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China's June power consumption up 3.79%

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-13 09:31

China's power consumption rose 3.79 percent year-on-year to 305.22 billion kWh in June, the China Securities News reported, citing sources from the China Electricity Council (CEC).

The country's power output reached 300.92 billion kWh in June, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts ascribed the increases in both figures to high temperatures in north China last month and several regional economic stimulus that started to take effect.

Related readings:  China's power consumption down 4.03% in first 4 months  Troubled economy drags down power consumption State Grid sees 2008 power consumption up 8-8.5%   China power consumption weakens on economic slowdown

The country's total power consumption and generation reached 1,641.1 billion kWh and 1,624 billion kWh in the first half of the year, down 2.43 percent and 1.8 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to the newspaper on Saturday.

Economic slowdown has sapped China's power use since October last year as the world downturn took a toll on the country's economy. In May, power consumption declined 2.57 percent over the same period last year.

Many provinces in north China have been hit by scorching heat since June, with temperatures reaching at least 35 degrees Celsius, and in some regions hitting 40 degrees.

Xue Jing, director of the statistics and information department under the CEC, agreed that increasing industrial activities and the heat wave contributed to the power consumption and output, but said more prudent observations are needed to tell whether the country's economy would embark on a new round of growth.