China’s electricity demand down in Jan

China’s power consumption fell 7.5% in January against previous year’s level. Slower economic activity and seasonal factors were cited by the official China Securities Journal as the main reasons for the lower figure.

The country’s Lunar New Year celebration was the main reason for the drop in the first month as industry paused production for a week. Last year, the holiday fell in early February, impacting on those month’s figures rather than January’s.

The global economic slowdown and the European debt crisis are forecast to impact on China’s growth in 2012 with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology predicting an annual growth rate of 11%. In terms of power consumption, the China Electricity Council expects a 9.5% rise to 5140TWh in 2012.