China’s electricity consumption rose 13.7 percent year on year in August, its fastest growth since March 2012, the National Energy Administration said yesterday.
The figure also marked the fourth straight month power use had risen, the NEA said. Power use figures are a good indicator of economic activity.
Power consumption expanded to 510.3 billion kilowatt-hours in August, accelerating from an 8.8 percent increase in July and a 3.6 percent rise in August 2012.
In the first eight months, power consumption rose 6.8 percent from the same period last year to 3.5 trillion kwh.
During the same period, electricity use by primary industries totaled 69.2 billion kwh, down 0.5 percent year on year; power consumption by secondary industries reached almost 2.57 trillion kwh, up 6.3 percent.
Power consumption by tertiary industries posted the highest rate of growth at 10.7 percent to total 416.1 billion kwh.
China added 47.1 gigawatts of power capacity in the January-August period, including 16.05 gigawatts of hydropower and 20.92 gigawatts of thermal power.
Ouyang Changyu, deputy secretary-general of the China Electricity Council, said the hot weather was an important factor in power use as continuous high temperatures led to more homes and businesses using air conditioning across the country this summer.
The rising use of electricity also reflected a firming economy, adding to evidence China is moving out of the shadow of a protracted slowdown.
A string of economic data, including the Purchasing Managers’ Index, trade, and industrial output all signaled the economy is strengthening.
The PMI rose to 51 in August from 50.3 in July. Exports rose 7.2 percent year on year to US$190.61 billion in August.
