(Yicai Global) July 26 -- China's electricity consumption is expected to soar by about 6 percent this year to 9.15 trillion kilowatt-hours, mainly because of the country’s economic rebound, high summer temperatures, and a low base a year earlier.

Electricity use rose 5 percent in the first six months from a year earlier, compared to a 2.9 percent jump in the first half of 2022, indicating the economy's overall recovery and upward momentum, a report issued by China Electricity Council showed yesterday. Second-half power use will likely surge 6 percent to 7 percent, the report added.

During peak energy use in summer, peak-hour supply and demand in eastern, central, and southern regions will be tight, while that in northeastern, northern, and northwestern areas will be balanced, the report pointed out.

The low base caused due to Covid-19 outbreaks in the second quarter of last year and the services sector's recovery as the virus' impact eased boosted the rapid growth of the tertiary industry’s power use in the three months ended June 30, Wang Yixuan, director of the CEC’s statistics center, told Yicai Global.

The service sector's first-half power consumption rose 9.9 percent, up 6.7 points from the jump in the same period of last year. Manufacturers used 4.3 percent more, edging up 3.6 points, while the needs of high-tech and equipment-making firms soared 8.1 percent.

The electrification of agricultural production and various segments of rural industries continued in the six months, the report showed. Agriculture’s power consumption rose 12.1 percent, with animal husbandry speeding up its transformation and upgrading, resulting in constant and rapid growth in energy use, soaring 18.5 percent.

Power consumption in some newly-emerging sectors also grew rapidly. That for solar equipment and parts manufacturers skyrocketed 77 percent, for new energy vehicle manufacturing it surged 51 percent, and for wind-power prime movers production it soared 35 percent.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev