China's Power Consumption Rises 5.6% in March

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China's power consumption reached 476.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in March, an increase of 5.6% from the same period last year, according to China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). For the three-month period of January through March, power consumption reached 1,352.4 billion kWh, an increase of 3.2% over the same three months in 2015.

The commission reported 94% of the growth occurred in the tertiary industry sector (services) and from household consumption. Power consumption by primary-sector industries (agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas production) rose 7.8% from the same period last year; while consumption by secondary-sector industries (manufactured goods) rose 0.2%.

Very cold weather and the extra day in February contributed to the growth in consumption in the first quarter. Without those two factors, consumption would have remained low.

In the power generation side, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported output reached 477.9 billion kWh in March, an increase of 4.0% over the same period last year. Hydro power output increased 9.2% to 74.9 billion kWh; thermal power output rose 1.2% to 364.2 billion kWh.

For the entire first quarter, power output reached 1,355.1 billion kWh, a 1.8% increase over first-quarter 2015. Hydro power output rose 17.5% to 203.3 billion kWh, but thermal power fell 2.2% to 1,049.3 billion kWh.

China's investment in the production and supply of power and heat reached during first-quarter 2016 reached $49.75 billion, an increase of 20.9% over the same period of 2015.

Industrial Info tracks more than 6,200 active power projects in China with a total investment value of more than 1 trillion dollars, and more than 3,400 operational power plants.

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