(Yicai Global) March 17 -- China's electricity consumption, which is widely considered a gauge of economic activity, fell 7.8 percent annually during the first two months of this year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Only eight of 31 provincial-level regions recorded growth during that period, NDRC spokeswoman Meng Wei said at a press conference today, without disclosing the total consumption figure. Electricity consumption grew 4.5 percent on the year in all of 2019.

China generated over 1 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity in January and February, some 8.2 percent less than the year-ago period, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.