China's 2020 power use up 3.1%

BEIJING -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, maintained steady expansion in 2020 as the country ended the year with a solid economic recovery despite the ravaging COVID-19 epidemic.

Total power use in China rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 7.5 trillion kWh in 2020, data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed.

Specifically, power consumption by the primary, secondary and tertiary industries climbed 10.2 percent, 2.5 percent and 1.9 percent from a year earlier, respectively, the NEA said.

Residential power consumption saw a 6.9-percent year-on-year increase in 2020, NEA data showed.

China's installed power capacity continued to expand last year. The country added 13.23 million kilowatts of hydropower capacity in 2020, while the newly installed capacity of wind and solar power increased by 71.67 million kilowatts and 48.2 million kilowatts, respectively, according to the NEA.

Meanwhile, China's power generation in 2020 grew 2.7 percent from a year ago, 0.7 percentage points higher than the growth registered in the first 11 months.

The country's gross domestic product expanded 2.3 percent year on year in 2020, exceeding the 100-trillion-yuan (about $15.42 trillion) threshold for the first time.