(Yicai Global) Dec. 13 -- Government efforts to improve air quality by replacing coal with electricity for heating resulted in the daily maximum load on Beijing's grid reaching an all-time high for the winter season on Dec. 11, a trend that will continue as the cold weather intensifies.

The capital's power consumption on Dec. 11 peaked at 17.85 million kilowatts at 8:25 pm on Dec. 11, with supplies used for heating rising 10.7 percent annually to 5.854 million kilowatts, the State Grid Beijing Electric Power Co. said in a press briefing yesterday. 

The utility expects the highest daily load this winter to increase 10.6 percent on last year reaching 18.6 million kilowatts, of which winter heating will account for 6.6 million kilowatts or 35 percent.

Beijing has connected 1.1 million households to the electricity grid this year increasing daily consumption by an estimated 3.8 million kilowatts, said Beijing Electric Power Co. Official Zhou Yunbin.

The city's grid operator has become the first firm in China to use a 10-kilowatt mobile emergency back-up generator vehicle, able to ensure normal power supply when the heating demand soars in a specific location, said Lin Tao, deputy director at Beijing Electric Power Co.'s O&M division.

Beijing's temperature has dropped significantly of late, and could reach as low as -5 to -8 degrees Celsius this week, Weather China reports.