Business
China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded steady growth in June, with total power use going up 3.9 percent year on year to 775.1 billion kilowatt-hours, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
According to the NDRC, China's power generation climbed 2.8 percent from one year ago to 739.9 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) in the same month. Meanwhile, national power plants stored a record high of 199 million tons of coal at the end of June, bracing for traditionally surging demand for electricity in the summer months.
NDRC also released power generation and power consumption data in the first half of this year.
In terms of power generation, electricity generated by major firms stood at 4,168 billion kwh, a year-on-year increase of 3.8 percent. And power from thermal, nuclear, wind and solar sources rose by 7.5, 6.5, 16, and 7.4 percent, respectively.
In the first half of the year, China's power consumption topped 4.3 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 5 percent from a year ago.
Power consumed by primary industries grew by 12.1 percent year on year, while that used by secondary and tertiary sectors increased by 4.4 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively.
Residential power use saw a year-on-year increase of 1.3 percent to 619.7 billion kilowatt-hours during the first six months.