Power demand increases in Q1 as economy firms

China's electricity consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, rose significantly during the first quarter of this year, as the service sector played a bigger role in driving the economy, the country's energy authority said on Tuesday.

Power consumption rose 9.8 percent to 1.6 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first three months, a quarterly record high since 2012, up 4.1 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter of last year, data released by the National Energy Administration showed.

The record growth was due to the strong economic performance during the first quarter as well as the robust service sector that drove the upturn in power use, said Li Fulong, head of the Development Planning Department of the NEA.