China's energy consumption rose 15.1 percent in the first 11 months of the year, boosted by strong demand from manufacturing industries, China Central Television (CCTV) said Friday.

In the period from January to November, the country consumed a total of 1.95 trillion kilowatt hours.

The manufacturing sector, the focal point of a lengthy government campaign to cool growth, saw power demand rise 16.6 percent over the 11-month period, according to the report.

The government did see some results for its cooling efforts, with the growth in power consumption down to 13.5 percent in the third quarter from 15.8 percent in the second quarter, CCTV reported.

Roaring energy demand has caused power shortages in most Chinese provinces at some point during 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2004)