BEIJING - China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reported steady expansion last month, official data showed on Tuesday.

Power use rose 8.6 percent year-on-year in February to hit 743.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to data released by the National Energy Administration.

Specifically, power consumed by the country's primary and secondary industries gained 10.2 percent and 12.4 percent year-on-year, respectively, while that of its tertiary sectors rose by 9.7 percent.

The administration said that urban and rural residential electricity consumption last month was down 4.2 percent from a year ago.

The data showed that in the first two months of 2025, the country's power consumption climbed 1.3 percent to surpass 1.55 trillion kWh.