Research conducted by the State Grid Cooperation of China (SGCC) found that both to satisfy the increasing demand for electricity and reign in excessive investment, the installed capacity of electrical power in China will increase at annual rate of 10.5 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010).

According to the China Securities Journal, after doing "extensive research into the structure of energy bases and the medium and long-term development of electric power", SGCC found by the end of 2010, when demand for electric power is expected to hit 381 million kilowatts, the total installed capacity will reach 852 million kilowatts. The report recommended that the installed capacity stay ahead of demand. For this to happen, the demand increase must be accurately forecasted. To ensure the balanced development of China's economy, the growth speed of China's electricity consumption must remain ahead of the total volume of energy consumption, or China will continue to consume more power than other energies. The average annual growth rate of electricity consumption is expected to hit 9 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan, a little higher than the GDP rate of increment; demand for electricity will fall back to 5.8 percent and 3.9 percent during the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plan periods, much lower than the growth rate of GDP during the same period.

By People's Daily Online