BEIJING, Aug. 15 -- China's power generation surged at a rapid pace in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

Power generation by the country's major electricity production enterprises rose 2.5 percent year on year to 883.1 billion kilowatt-hours last month, with the growth rate 0.2 percentage points higher than in June.

In the first seven months combined, the power generation went up 4.8 percent compared to a year earlier.

A breakdown of the July data showed a narrowed decline in thermal power output, a slowdown in the growth rates of hydropower and wind and solar power production, and a return to growth in nuclear power output.

In July, hydropower output surged 36.2 percent year on year, the fastest growth among all power types, followed by solar power at 16.4 percent and nuclear power at 4.3 percent. Thermal power output dropped 4.9 percent.