By the end of 2001, nationwide total power use at county level or below had reached 625.9 billion kW/h, an increase of

10.41 percent over the previous year, and accounting for 43.05 percent of the national total. Rural power use was 320.5

billion kW/h, accounting for 51.21 percent of the total at county level or below. Power use by county seats was 305.3

billion kW/h annually, or 48.79 percent of the total at county level or below. Per-capita power use at county level or

below reached 547.52 kW/h annually , and per-capita use for living came to 106.55 kW/h. The average per-capita power use of

the agricultural population was 351.36 kW/h annually.

The installed capacity of power generating equipment at county level or below was 49.2 million kW; the power generation

volume was 167.1 million kW/h, and the power supply volume of power generating equipment at county level or below came to

133.7 billion kW/h, accounting for 21.36 percent of the total at this level. The supply of major power grids was 492.2

billion kW/h, accounting for 78.64 percent of supply at county level or below.

There were three 110 kV high-voltage circuits totaling 3.41 million km, low-voltage circuits extending 7.75 million km, and

4,461 110-kV transformer substations with a capacity of 207.7 million kVA; 17,476 35- (36) kV substations with a capacity

of 131.16 million kVA; 3.48 million distribution transformers with a capacity of 360 million kVA; and, 416.58 kW power use

facilities at county level or below.

The country's power access rate in townships, villages and households reached 98.56 percent, 98.53 percent and 98.40

percent respectively. Power is not yet available in 4.78 million households, 10,952 villages and 629 townships in three

counties in China. Up to the present, 500 electrification counties have built their power supply areas with large power

grids, and there are 332 elementary rural electrification counties with small hydroelectric power areas. (ICN)