By Yu Huapeng (于华鹏) and trainee reporter Yang Xiaobo (杨笑波)
Economic Observer Online
Sep 30, 2011
Translated by Song Chunling
Original Article: [Chinese]

An official from China's Natioanl Energy Administration (NEA) told a government work conference yesterday that some regions of China may suffer from persistent electricity shortages this Winter and through to the following Spring.

The drop off in rainfall in southern China has caused storage in dams that feed the main hydropower stations in the region to drop by between 30 and 40 percent compared with the same period last year.

On Sep 29, Hao Weiping (郝卫平), deputy director of the electricity department of the Natioanl Energy Administration (NEA) said that some regions in China may suffer a persistent electricity shortages this winter and next spring. Mr. Hao said that southern and central regions that depended on hydroelectricity. Other provinces that pay a low price for electricity produced by coal-fueled thermal power plants will also face shortages.

Data from the NEA revealed that up until the end of August, electricity consumption around the nation totaled 3.12 trillion kilowatt hours, up 11.9% when compared with the same period last year.