China 2014 power consumption growth decelerates to 3.8%

 China used 5523.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2014, 3.8 percent more than a year earlier, the National Energy Administration said on Friday.

The growth was the slowest in recent years, as the economy decelerated following the government embarked a shift to consumption from investment and from extensive expansion to intensive growth.

Power consumption in tertiary industry gained 6.4 percent last year, outperforming the rest sectors. Power use in heavy industry, which accounts for over 60% of China's electricity consumption, rose 3.6 percent in 2014, the data showed.

On a monthly basis,  power use in December increased 4.2 percent on year, faster than the 3.3 percent rise in November and 3.1 percent in October, and was the fastest growth since July, CNGIA calculations based on official government data showed. The pickup may have been helped by the government "mini-stimulus" policies and recent monetary easing.