China added 85 million kilowatts of power generating capacity from January to November this year to fuel its double-digit economic growth, according to the China Electricity Council (CEC).

The installed power generating capacity in China, the world's second largest energy consumer only after the United States, stood at 622 million kw by the end of 2006.

The rapid increase in power capacity means there was slim chance of power shortages occurring in large areas of the country despite the sustained growth in power demand, said an unnamed CEC official.

China's power generating capacity would jump to 900 million kw in 2010 and the power demand would grow by around 10 percent annually from 2007 to 2010, the CEC predicted.

The power demand and supply would continue to be in basic balance in the coming years, the official added.

Severe power shortages started to hit a majority of Chinese provinces and cities in 2002, before they eased in 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2008)