Shanghai expected electricity shortages to continue through the coldest months of the year as capacity failed to meet rising demand, according to the Shanghai Morning Post.

Electricity shortages this winter and next spring in the city would amount to about 1.35 and 1.55 million kilowatts, the paper cited municipal officials as saying.

Although the country was moving into the fall and winter seasons where power use was typically lower than in the hot summer months, supply was still expected to remain under pressure due to strong economic growth, the paper said.

Loads during the period will reach 14.2 million kilowatts or equal to that of this summer, with shortages expected throughout all of 2005 as the city's power demands expanded to about 19 million kilowatts.

Since the beginning of May this year, Shanghai has been forced to ration electricity to factories and retailers and have turned off decorative street lighting to cope with the shortfall. Most restrictive measures have since been lifted.

However, demand will continue to rise, with load in 2006 forecast to reach 20.7 million kilowatts, while in 2010 the city's power needs will hit 24.5 million.

Respite will not come until at least 2006 when new capacity is set to come on line.

Since 2000, the East China Power Grid, where Shanghai gets most of its electricity, has run at full capacity, but this summer the eastern region suffered its worst power shortage in history.

The officials from the city of 17 million people have said they would spend more than 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion) in the next decade to upgrade electricity production and distribution facilities.

China itself underwent its worst power crisis in twenty years with 24 of 31 provinces facing huge shortfalls in the May through August periods.

Officials have earmarked new construction of power stations aimed at doubling total power generation capacity to about 900,000 megawatts by 2020 from the current 400,000.

Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies