Major power firms see 15b yuan loss in 2011

The five major power generation groups lost a total of 15.1 billion yuan ($2.37 billion) and investment for thermal power dropped 26 percent across the country last year，reported Shanghai Securities News on Thursday, citing an annual report released by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC).

The SERC report attributed the loss to rising coal prices in recent years and increased financial costs.

According to the SERC's analysis, in 2011,China's power generating capacity and power grid scale ranked among the top in the world, and the achievements in optimizing electricity source structures have been remarkable.

The installed hydropower capacity reached 230 million kW with an annual generation capacity of 690 billion kWh, while the scale of wind power has run over 45 million kW, both ranking first in the world.

The SERC estimated that by the end of 2012, the total installed capacity will exceed 1.1 billion kW and the newly-added generating capacity will reach about 90 million kW.