BEIJING, March 17 -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached more than 1.65 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first two months of 2026, up 6.1 percent year on year, according to data released Tuesday by the National Energy Administration.

A breakdown of the data shows robust growth across various sectors.

The primary industry saw a 7.4 percent increase in power consumption, bringing total consumption to 22.3 billion kilowatt-hours.

The secondary industry consumed about 1.03 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 6.3 percent from a year ago, while the tertiary industry recorded 8.3 percent growth in power use, totaling 323.1 billion kilowatt-hours.

During the same period, power consumption by the country's residents rose 2.7 percent year on year to 281.3 billion kilowatt-hours.