BEIJING — China’s electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 7.2 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed on March 20.

Total power use hit 489.1 billion kilowatt hours last month. Power use by the secondary industry increased by 6.5 percent, and that by the tertiary industry 8.2 percent, according to the National Energy Administration.

Power use in the first two months totaled 1.11 trillion kilowatt hours, up 4.5 percent year-on-year.