China's May power use rises 6.9% on year, accelerating from April

China's electricity consumption rose 6.9% year on year in May to 867.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), accelerating from the 6.0% growth recorded in April, as industrial activity remained resilient and early-summer heatwaves drove a sharp increase in power demand for cooling, official data showed on June 18.

The May reading compared with 820.5 billion kWh in April, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA). The faster growth pushed cumulative power consumption for the first five months of 2026 to 4,201.8 billion kWh, up 5.7% from the same period last year. The secondary sector – covering