Demand rises 8.5% in Nov.

Chile's power demand in the central grid (SIC) increased 8.5% in November compared to the same month last year, according to statistics from the grid operator CDEC-SIC. The increase is the third highest of 2004, after August and September when demand rose 9% and 9.2% respectively. Despite gas export restrictions from Argentina earlier this year, accumulated electricity consumption in the year to November increased 7.4% compared to the same period of 2003, which is the highest increase in four years, newspaper El Mercurio reported. "This spike in demand has exceeded the expectations that authorities, companies and analysts had at the beginning of the year," the paper reported. The national energy commission had estimated 2004 demand growth at 6.4%, while companies estimated about 6%. The higher demand will translate into new investments in generation, economy minister Jorge Rodríguez was quoted as saying, adding "obviously if the demand is good, the supply also will be good."