BEIJING, April 27 -- China's energy consumption continued to rally in the first quarter of 2023, boosted by the country's rising industrial power demand, a government official said Thursday.

Total electricity consumption increased 3.6 percent year on year in the first three months, Dong Wancheng, an official with the National Energy Administration, told a press conference.

Dong said that the electricity consumption for industrial use went up 4.4 percent from the same period in 2022, contributing 78 percent of the overall electricity consumption growth.

Coal consumption logged a steady increase driven by the rising industrial power demand in the first quarter, while the consumption of natural gas and refined oil had also reported an uptick since February, according to Dong.

To further meet domestic energy demand, China scaled up energy source imports. The imports of coal surged 96.1 percent year on year in the first quarter, Dong added