Power shortages, a chronic problem that started to plague China in June 2002, could possibly be checked this year as more power supply comes on line to meet growing demand.

"The gap between power supply and demand could be alleviated as the installed capacity of China's generators has grown dramatically," said Chairman Chai Songyue of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission at a recent meeting.

He said that by March, only two provinces were hit by power shortage. In June when power consumption entered the peak summer period, only Zhejiang, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces used rolling blackouts to avoid massive power outages. Last year, however, a total of 25 provinces had to implement the same measures.

From January to June China produced 12 percent more electricity year-on-year, with output rising to 1.27 trillion kwhs. Demand for electricity approached 1.31 trillion kwhs, up 12.89 percent year-on-year, Chai said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2006)