China expects rapid rise in energy demand
The NEA said demand for electricity would grow up to 12 percent in 2011 with total consumption reaching up to 4.69 trillion kilowatt hours, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In January, the NEA estimated China's demand for electricity would grow 9 percent this year compared to 2010.
The NEA also released new figures on the expected demand for gas and oil, which is now forecast to grow 7.5 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Demand for petroleum products is expected to rise fastest in the summer as more Chinese consumers take to the roads. Automobile sales are expected to rise 11 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, with more than 19 million vehicle sales expected this year.
Related News

The Haves and Have-Nots of Electricity in California
PARADISE, CA - The intentional blackout by California’s largest utility this week put Forest Jones out of work and his son out of school. On Friday morning Mr. Jones, a handyman and single father, sat in his apartment above a tattoo parlor waiting for the power to come back on and for school to reopen.
“I’ll probably lose $400 or $500 dollars because of this,” said Mr. Jones, who lives in the town of Paradise, which was razed by fire last year and is slowly rebuilding. “Things have been really tough up here.”
Millions of people were affected by the blackout, which…