THE growth of China’s power consumption is expected to halve to between 3.5 percent and 4 percent in 2014, the China Electricity Council forecast, marking the slowest growth in at least a decade.

    The marked deceleration comes as economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy has slipped to its lowest level in five years. Also growing energy efficiency and a shift away from infrastructure investments towards the service sector have contributed to weaker power demand.

    “China’s development has entered a ‘new normal’, whereby economic growth is moderating and industries face growing pressure to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution,” the China Electricity Council said in a statement on its website seen Tuesday.

    The latest consumption forecast by the utility industry body compares with its July estimate of 5.5 to 6.5 percent and its February estimate of 7 percent.

    China’s power consumption rose 7.5 percent in 2013. The slowest growth recorded in the last decade was in 2008, when power demand increased by 5.23 percent.

    Power consumption in the fourth quarter is estimated to be up 3 percent from a year ago, due to lower factory output, the Electricity Council said.

    Factory output is expected to shrink in the fourth quarter as more than 2,000 factories in northern Hebei Province are set to halt or limit production as part of efforts to clear up Beijing’s smoggy skies during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit this month, the Electricity Council said.

    China is focusing efforts to curb pollution on Hebei Province, which has an annual production capacity of 286 million tons of steel a year, more than the whole of the European Union, according to official data.

    (SD-Agencies)