BEIJING, May 17 -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded robust expansion in April 2024, official data showed Friday.

Power use climbed 7 percent year on year to 741.2 billion kilowatt-hours last month, according to the National Energy Administration.

Specifically, power consumed by primary and secondary industries went up 10.5 percent and 6.2 percent year on year, respectively. Power used by the tertiary sector went up 10.8 percent.

China's residential power use in April registered a 5.9 percent increase from the same period last year.

In the first four months of 2024, the country's power use climbed 9 percent to nearly 3.08 trillion kilowatt-hours.