Determinants of electricity consumption intensity in China: Analysis of cities at subprovince and prefecture levels in 2009

Abstract

China has experienced great social and economic vicissitudes that caused the vast complexity and uncertainty for electricity consumption. This paper attempts to identify the main determinants of the electricity consumption intensity by using the data from Chinese cities at subprovince and prefecture levels in 2009. The key category factors, including urban morphology, industrial structure, regulation context, urbanization degree, price, natural condition, and resource endowment, are abstracted and the influence of these determinants is evaluated by adopting the finite mixture models. The variation of each determinant across regions, the comparative weights of all the factors, and the detailed classifications of the cities are reported for facilitating the understanding of electricity consumption in China. The corresponding policies for electricity administration are addressed as well. © 2012 X. H. Xia and Yi Hu.