China's power consumption to double by 2020

BEIJING - China's total power consumption is estimated to double by 2020, said Liu Zhenya, general manager of the State Grid Corporation of China, the country's largest grid operator, on Saturday.

Liu made the remarks at a group interview on the sidelines of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which opened Thursday.

China's power consumption growth has been slowing as the economic downshift sapped factory activity and industrial output.

The country's total electricity consumption rose 11.7 percent year on year to 4.69 trillion kWh in 2011, according to data from the China Electricity Council.