China's August power use tops 1t kWh again, load hits record high

BEIJING -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, topped 1 trillion kilowatt-hours again in August, while the electricity load hit a record high last month, official data showed on Sunday.

Power use totaled 1.03 trillion kWh in August, rising 1.7 percent year-on-year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). Electricity load hit a record high of 1.56 billion kilowatts, 49.69 million kW higher than the previous year's peak.

A breakdown of the August data revealed that power consumed by the primary industry rose 2.7 percent year-on-year to 16.9 billion kWh, while power consumed by the secondary industry increased 2.4 percent to 612.4 billion kWh. Power use by the tertiary industry reached 215.5 billion kWh, up 5.1 percent year-on-year.

Notably, electricity consumption by the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sector reached 122.2 billion kWh in August, an increase of 7.2 percent. Computer and communications equipment, automobile manufacturing, general equipment manufacturing, special equipment manufacturing and electrical machinery manufacturing saw power use rise 7.5 percent, 7.6 percent, 7.6 percent, 8.2 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively.

The charging and battery swapping service sector and internet data services reported rapid growth in electricity consumption in August, rising 51.2 percent and 37.9 percent, to 17.2 billion and 10.2 billion kWh, respectively.

In the first eight months of the year, China's total power use reached 7.17 trillion kWh, up 4.3 percent year-on-year, the NEA said. Power use by the primary, secondary and tertiary industries rose 3.3 percent, 4.4 percent and 7.1 percent, to 104.6 billion kWh, 4.53 trillion kWh and 1.43 trillion kWh, respectively.

During this period, high-tech and equipment manufacturing electricity consumption climbed 9.3 percent to 845.1 billion kWh. Electricity use by charging and battery swapping services and internet data services grew 55.1 percent to 114.7 billion kWh and 42.5 percent to 69.5 billion kWh, respectively. Residential power use rose 0.3 percent to 1.11 trillion kWh.

In recent years, China has made major strides in terms of its power infrastructure, helping ensure a stable electricity supply during peak periods and effectively supporting economic and social development as well as meeting people's basic needs, the National Development and Reform Commission said in July.