China's total electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic vitality, rose 3.9 percent year-on-year, reaching over 8.07 trillion kilowatt-hours during the first nine months of the year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Wednesday.

The steady increase in power demand highlights ongoing industrial upgrading and the accelerated growth of green and digital infrastructure across the world's second-largest economy.

During the January-September period, power consumed by the primary sector reached 118.2 billion kWh, an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

Electricity used by the secondary sector totaled nearly 5.11 trillion kWh, up 4.1 percent year-on-year. Within this segment, industrial electricity consumption grew 4.3 percent to 5.06 trillion kWh. Notably, the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors led industrial growth with power usage climbing 8.7 percent to 961.9 billion kWh, underscoring solid progress in advanced manufacturing and high-end industrial transformation.

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The tertiary sector saw robust momentum, with power consumption jumping 6.8 percent year-on-year to 1.61 trillion kWh in the first three quarters.

Emerging services tied to the green and digital economies registered standout performances. Electricity demand for electric vehicle charging and battery-swapping facilities surged 55.4 percent year-on-year to 131.5 billion kWh, while internet data services saw power consumption soar 41.6 percent to 79.3 billion kWh, reflecting the rapid adoption of new energy vehicles and computing infrastructure nationwide.

Residential power consumption remained largely steady between January and September, edging down 0.3 percent year-on-year to 1.23 trillion kWh.

In September alone, national electricity consumption stood at 899.7 billion kWh, up 1.2 percent year-on-year.

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A breakdown of September's figures shows that primary and secondary industries consumed 13.5 billion kWh and 580 billion kWh, representing annual increases of 4.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. Industrial power use rose 1.8 percent to 575.1 billion kWh, while high-tech and equipment manufacturing electricity usage expanded 4.6 percent to 116.7 billion kWh.

The service sector maintained solid demand in September, using 185.2 billion kWh, up 4.9 percent year-on-year. Growth in EV charging infrastructure and data centers remained robust during the month, expanding by 57.0 percent to 16.8 billion kWh and 35.4 percent to 9.8 billion kWh, respectively.

Urban and rural residential power usage in September fell 6.0 percent year-on-year to 121 billion kWh. The NEA attributed the monthly dip primarily to weather factors, noting that extreme weather events, including typhoons, brought cooler temperatures across high-load regions during the first half of the month, which substantially curtailed seasonal air conditioning and cooling demand.