According to the national electricity distribution center, China's electricity consumption totaled 5.49 billion kwh from 0:00 Dec. 8 to 0:00 Dec. 9, a record winter daily consumption, China Central Television has reported.

Electricity consumption rose by 16.5 percent over the same period last year.

The power shortage in China has affected the lives of ordinary people as well as industrial production, the report said.

In Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, some residents have begun to buy small electricity generators. More than 10 large department stores in Xiamen, a port city in east China's Fujian Province, open only five days a week in accordance with the blackout schedule.

The State Electric Power Regulatory Commission attributed the situation to a number of factors, which include"-- Dry spells plagued China this year, and water levels are especially low this winter, and hydroelectric plants are unable to operate to their full capacity;

-- Many thermal power plants, which constitute the bulk of China's power supply, are operating below their capacity due to inadequate coal supply;

-- Use of electricity in heating systems rose drastically this winter;

+ Energy-intensive industries, including the production of steel and nonferrous metals have been growing fast.

The State Grid Corporation forecast China's electricity consumption would grow to 2,091 billion kwh in 2004, up some 207 billion kwh over 2003. The power shortage would worsen and more areas would experience blackouts.

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