Natural gas generator sets with a combined capacity of 6 million kilowatts will be put into operation in China next year to alleviate the power shortage, according to Hao Weiping, an official with the State Development and Reform Commission.

Hao said at a recent forum on Sino-US oil and natural gas industry that by 2010 China's generating sets will have a combined installed capacity of more than 600 million kilowatts, with that gas turbines accounting for some 5 percent.

By the end of 2003, China had a total installed generating capacity of 385 million kilowatts, 24 percent of which were from hydro-electric generators, 74.4 percent from thermal-electric generators, and 1.6 percent from nuclear generators, Hao said.

Gas generating sets only had an combined installed capacity of 7 million kilowatts, he added.

Source: Xinhua