BEIJING — China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, soared 18.5 percent in February from a year earlier as the country's economy continued to restore growth, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed.

Total power use hit 526.4 billion kWh last month, according to the NEA.

Specifically, power use by the primary and secondary industries surged 26.4 percent and 22.5 percent year-on-year, respectively, while that used by the tertiary industry jumped 24.7 percent from a year ago.

Residential power consumption registered a 2.1 percent yearly increase in February.

In the first two months, China's electricity consumption totaled 1.26 trillion kWh, jumping 22.2 percent year-on-year, NEA data showed.