Enterprises and households in China are expected to consume
significantly more electricity in the next five years thanks
to the predicted sustainable growth of industries and the increasing
use of electric appliances by Chinese families.
According to official
statistics, the electricity demand will maintain a 5 to 6
percent annual growth rate throughout the 10th Five-Year Plan
(2001-05) period.
"In 2005,
the country's total electricity consumption will hit 1.65
trillion kilowatt-hours," predicted Ni Jixiang, a senior
official with the State Power Corp of China.
By then, Ni claimed,
the country's installed capacity of electricity generation
will have risen to 370 million kilowatts, representing an
increase of 56 million kilowatts over this year's capacity.
Ni provided this
forecast yesterday at a seminar on the development strategy
for China's power industry in the early 21st century. The
seminar, held in Beijing, was hosted by Xinhua News Agency
and sponsored by the State Power Corp of China.
Despite the fact
that China is now the world's second largest country in terms
of electricity production and consumption, the per capita
figure is less than half of the world's average, said Wang
Likuang, president of China Economic Information Agency.
Additionally, a
total of 28 million people in the country still do not have
access to electricity either because they live in remote areas
uncovered by the current power grids or because they just
cannot afford it.
To change the situation,
the country is investing heavily in upgrading its power grids
while making great efforts to crack down on the unauthorized
electricity surcharges levied by some local electricity supply
authorities, in the hope of increasing general access to electric
power.
A total of 150
billion yuan (US$18.1 billion) is expected to be invested
in the countrywide power grid upgrading project over the next
three years. A similar sum of money has already been employed
in power grid upgrading projects that have been taking place
since 1998.
The power grid
upgrades are only part of the country's plan to develop power
industry in the next five years.
Ni said the State
Power Corp of China has outlined the key sectors of the nation's
power industry that will see development during the 10th Five-Year
Plan period, with priority given to the readjustment of power
source structures.
Hydro-power will
occupy a privileged place on the agenda, Ni explained. Hydropower
development efforts will be concentrated in projects located
on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the middle and upper
reaches of the Yangtze River, the middle and lower reaches
of the Hongshui River and Lancang River, and in the Wujiang
River basin.
In a move that
demonstrates the country's concern for the environment, China
also plans to build more wind power stations over the next
few years.
(China Daily 12/25/2000)
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