(Yicai) Oct. 29 -- China’s power consumption jumped by a more-than-expected 7.9 percent in the first nine months from a year ago, driven by economic growth and record high summer temperatures, according to an industry report.

Electricity consumption reached 7.41 trillion kilowatt-hours in the January to September period, said the report released by the China Electricity Council yesterday, with notable growth in secondary industries.

Consumption by high-tech and equipment manufacturers jumped 11.4 percent amid ongoing upgrades in the sector. Producers of electronic equipment used 14.4 percent more, while instrumentation makers consumed 11.6 percent extra, with a rise of 11.1 percent for the auto industry.

The rapid development of the mobile internet, Big Data, and cloud computing services led to a 24.4 percent increase in power use by internet firms and related services. And the growing popularity of electric vehicles drove a 56.7 percent surge in the charging and battery swapping service industry, the report noted.

The summer heatwave was another factor, as households and businesses cranked up the air conditioning amid record temperatures.

The power industry reflected the state of the national economy, said CEC Executive Vice Chairman Wang Shuxiang. Electricity demand correlates closely with gross domestic product and is a vital support for the national economy, he added.

The report predicted this year’s power will reach 9.9 trillion kWh, up about 7 percent on last year, when the figure rose 6.7 percent.

China recently rolled out an economic stimulus package, so the growth in power consumption is expected to remain strong. But it may slow a little compared with the first three quarters, the report said, partly because the meteorological department has predicted higher-than-average temperatures in most areas in the coming months, reducing the need for heating.

There is also a high base of comparison from the fourth quarter of 2023, so the growth rate logged in the first nine months of the year is likely to slow to about 5 percent, the report added.

Editor: Tom Litting