BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, registered steady growth in the first seven months of 2023, official data showed on Monday.

During the period, China's power consumption neared 5.2 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 5.2 percent from a year ago, the National Energy Administration said.

Power consumed by primary industries increased 12.3 percent year on year, and power used by secondary and tertiary sectors increased 4.6 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.

Residential power use saw a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percent to 782.7 billion kilowatt-hours during the first seven months, the administration said.

In July alone, the country's power consumption rose 6.5 percent year on year to 888.8 billion kilowatt-hours, according to the administration.