Industrial electricity sales in South Korea, the export-driven economy, rose last month as power usage for the heating purpose exceeded weak exports, a government report showed Monday.

Power sales in the industrial sector, a barometer of industrial activities, reached 22.27 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in December 2012, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The heating demand increased last month amid low temperatures that averaged 3.2 degrees Celsius in December, down 3.9 degrees from the same month of the prior year. Those demand offset weak exports that dropped 5.5 percent on-year last month.

Power demand from the auto sector, which consumes more electricity in production, expanded 3.5 percent last month, with those at the chip and machinery equipment industries advancing 6.3 percent and 8.6 percent each.

Total power sales, including household and industrial demand, rose 4.8 percent in December from a year before, higher than a 2.8 percent gain in the previous month.

Those for the educational facilities purpose surged 15.5 percent last month, with those for the general and household usage growing 7.4 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.