China is experiencing a power gap of up to 69.63 million kilowatts (kw) as a coal shortage cuts generation at some plants, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC).

The shortage has led 13 provincial-level regions, including Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan and Guangdong to ration electricity, SERC chairman You Quan said.

The booming southern province of Guangdong is expected to have a power gap of 6.5 million kw this year, said Yang Jianchu, deputy head of the Provincial Economic and Trade Commission.

Electricity use has surged amid rapid economic growth. Demand has also jumped as more people turn up the heat in this freezing, snowy winter. The snow is also causing transportation problems for coal, which exacerbates output shortages, You told a meeting on Tuesday in Beijing.

Coal reserves were down more than 40 percent year-on-year, at 17.73 million tons, as of January 20, according to the State Grid. The figure only equals eight days' supply for the country's power plants.

The coal gap is 330,000 tons per day, or 14 percent short of the total consumption of 2.32 million tons, SERC stated.

Power supply and consumption were in basic balance in 2007, with output up 14.44 percent to 3.256 trillion kilowatt-hours and consumption up 14.42 percent to 3.246 trillion kilowatt-hours, the industry regulator said.

SERC said China's installed power generating capacity increased by 100 million kw to 713 million kw last year. The China Electricity Council has recently predicted that capacity would jump to 900 million kw in 2010.

Severe power shortages started to affect most Chinese provinces and cities in 2002, before they eased in 2006.