China's power use up 2.5% in Jan-May

BEIJING - China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded stable growth in the first five months, official data has shown.

Total power use went up 2.5 percent year-on-year in the January-May period to 3.35 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to the National Energy Administration.

Power consumed by the primary industry increased by 9.8 percent year-on-year, while that used by the secondary and tertiary industries rose by 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Residents' power consumption saw a year-on-year increase of 8.1 percent.

In May alone, the power consumption stood at 671.6 billion kWh, down slightly by 1.3 percent from a year ago. While the electricity used in the primary sector gained 6.3 percent, that of secondary and tertiary sectors was down 0.5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.