Total power use to rise 3% during year

Total national energy consumption rose 0.7 percent in the first half of the year compared to last year, official figures showed on Monday, with a decline in coal use offset by increases in oil, natural gas and renewable power consumption.

The National Energy Administration said it expected energy consumption to inch up further in the second half, with total power use over 2015 likely to reach 5.7 trillion kilowatt-hours, up around 3 percent from last year.

Total consumption in 2014 was estimated to have reached 3.6 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, up just 0.3 percent from 2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.