BEIJING — China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 4.6 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2019, the country's top economic planner said on Aug 16.

Total power use hit 4.1 trillion kilowatt hours in the January-July period, according to Meng Wei, a spokesperson with the National Development and Reform Commission.

Specifically, power use by the first and secondary industries increased 5.2 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, while the consumption by the tertiary industry surged 9.1 percent.

Residential power consumption went up 8.8 percent year-on-year.

In July alone, the country's power use grew 2.7 percent year-on-year, retreating 2.8 percentage points from that in June, said Meng.