Power output surges 22 pct in first two months of year
Shanghai. March 12. INTERFAX-CHINA - China's total power output grew by 7.9 percent year-on-year to 269.60 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in February, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on March 11.
Thermal power output rose by 11.4 percent year-on-year to 229.90 billion kWh last month, but hydropower output sunk by 13.6 percent year-on-year to 26 billion kWh, according to the NBS. Nuclear power output also fell, dropping by 2.7 percent year-on-year to 5.48 billion kWh.
Over the first two months of this year, China's total power output surged 22.1 percent year-on-year to 609 billion kWh, according to the statistics.
"The drop in hydropower output in February was a result of a serious drought in southern China. But overall, power output in the first two months is on track following the global financial crisis," power industry analyst Liang Yumei from Shanxi Securities told Interfax.
Power output will continue to grow at a fast clip in the first half primarily because of the decline during the same period in 2009. However, because power output began to recover in the second half of 2009, growth will start to slow in the second half of this year, Liang said.
-WV