China's electricity consumption picks up in May

BEIJING - China's use of electricity rose 2.1 percent in May from the previous year, up from the 1.9 percent growth registered in April, official data showed Tuesday.

Electricity consumption totaled 473 billion kilowatt hours last month, according to data from the National Development and Reform Commission.

In the first five months, electricity consumption increased 2.7 percent year on year to 2.3 trillion kilowatt hours, the commission said.

Electricity use in the service sector and agricultural sector both rose 9.6 percent in the January-May period, while the industrial sector saw an increase of 0.4 percent.

The data pints to positive changes in China's economic structure, as power use in the service sector grew faster than the industrial sector, Li Pumin, secretary general of the commission, said at a press conference.