China’s power consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, is expected to rise 6.5 percent in the second quarter, bringing the annual rate for 2014 to around 6 percent, according to a report released by China Electricity Council.
In the first half of the year, power use rose 5.3 percent from a year ago to reach 2.63 trillion kwh, earlier official data showed, as the economy expanded 7.4 percent during the period, slightly below the government target of 7.5 percent, Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.
In breakdown, electricity use by primary industries dropped 4.6 percent year on year. Power consumption by the industrial sector rose 5.1 percent while that by tertiary industries went up 6.9 percent.