BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached more than 1.65 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first two months of 2026, up 6.1 percent year on year, according to data released Tuesday by the National Energy Administration.

Staff members of the State Grid Baoding Electric Power Supply Company inspect equipment in Baoding, north China's Hebei Province, July 6, 2023. (File photo: Xinhua)

A breakdown of the data shows robust growth across various sectors.

The primary industry saw a 7.4 percent increase in power consumption, bringing total consumption to 22.3 billion kilowatt-hours.

The secondary industry consumed about 1.03 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 6.3 percent from a year ago, while the tertiary industry recorded 8.3 percent growth in power use, totaling 323.1 billion kilowatt-hours.

During the same period, power consumption by the country's residents rose 2.7 percent year on year to 281.3 billion kilowatt-hours.