BEIJING, June 22 -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded robust expansion in May, official data showed.

Power use climbed 7.2 percent year on year to 775.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

Specifically, power consumed by primary and secondary industries went up 10.3 percent and 6.8 percent year on year, respectively. Power used by the tertiary sector went up 9.9 percent.

China's residential power use in May registered a 5.5 percent increase from the same period last year, hitting 92.4 billion kWh.

In the first five months of 2024, the country's power use climbed 8.6 percent to nearly 3.84 trillion kWh, the data showed.