CHINA’S electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, continued stable expansion in August, official data said Thursday. The power use climbed 3.9% from a year ago to 886.1 billion kilowatt-hours last month, driven by robust industrial power demand, according to the National Energy Administration. Power consumed by primary industries went up 8.6% year on year, and power used by secondary and tertiary sectors gained 7.6% and 6.6%, respectively. However, residential power use registered a 9.9% decline. In the first eight months combined, the country’s electricity consumption rose 5% from a year earlier to 6.08 trillion kilowatt-hours. (Xinhua) | 