China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, saw steady growth in September, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

Power use climbed by 8.5 percent year-on-year to 847.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month, with power consumed by primary and secondary industries up 6.4 percent and 3.6 percent year-on-year, respectively. Power use in the tertiary sector increased by 12.7 percent, the data revealed.

China's residential power use in September surged 27.8 percent from the same period of 2023, hitting 132.3 billion kWh. In the first nine months of 2024, the country's power consumption climbed 7.9 percent to 7.41 trillion kWh, it said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn