China's power use up 13.2% in April

BEIJING -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, expanded 13.2 percent year-on-year in April as the country's economy continued to resume growth, official data showed.

Total power use came in at 636.1 billion kWh last month, according to the National Energy Administration.

In April, power consumption by the primary and secondary industries rose 16.4 percent and 12.3 percent from a year ago, respectively, while that used by the tertiary industry surged 31.3 percent year-on-year.

Residential power consumption edged down 0.9 percent year-on-year last month.

In the first four months, China's power consumption totaled 2.56 trillion kWh, up 19.1 percent year-on-year.

China's economy grew 18.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, as strong domestic and foreign demand powered recovery from a low base in early 2020 when COVID-19 stalled the world's second-largest economy.