BEIJING -- China's trans-regional electricity transmission totaled 133.4 billion kilowatt-hours during the first eight months of 2012, according to official data.

In August alone, trans-regional electricity transmission hit 22.8 billion kwh, according to a statement posted Monday on the website of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

China Southern Power Grid Co, the country's second-largest electricity distributor, transmitted 77 billion kwh of electricity from the nation's energy-rich western parts to eastern areas during the first eight months, the statement said.

China's coal resources are unevenly distributed, with more than 80 percent of coal deposits concentrated in the north and southwest regions.

The country launched its west-east power transmission program in 2000 to transmit power from western regions to power-hungry eastern areas.

China's electricity imports hit 4.2 billion kwh and exports stood at 12.1 billion kwh during the first eight months, according to the statement.