BEIJING - Local governments have formed a consensus on China's overall plan to control total energy consumption, the nation's energy chief said on Wednesday.

After some revisions, the plan will be submitted to the State Council, or China's Cabinet, for approval, Liu Tienan, head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said at a national energy work conference that concluded Wednesday.

The country aims to establish a unified nationwide index system for energy consumption by 2015, and the system will be included in the performance assessments of local governments, said Liu.

The index system, however, will not include recent additions, including consumption of renewable energy, coal gangue and mud used to generate electricity, coal-bed gas and shale gas, waste heat and excess pressure that works to produce electricity, according to Liu.

The energy chief admitted that the nation is under greater pressure to ensure energy supplies this year as both demand and international competition for resources grows.

He said the nation should improve relevant policies such as industrial, fiscal, pricing and financial regulations to support the energy consumption control plan, adding that authorities are studying a trading system for the energy consumption index.

China's power consumption, a key indicator measuring the country's economic vitality, rose 11.7 percent year-on-year to 4.7 trillion kilowatt hours in 2011. Growth in 2012 is expected to slow to 8.5 percent amid the country's economic slowdown.

Figures on the nation's primary energy consumption in 2011 have not yet been released. In 2010, China's primary energy consumption rose 5.9 percent year-on-year to 3.25 billion tonnes of coal equivalent, making it the world's second largest energy consumer after the United States.