BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's power consumption, a gauge of economic activity, climbed a faster pace at 8.8 percent in August, data showed Tuesday.

In breakdown, power consumption in primary industry and secondary industry rose 8.7 percent and 8.9 percent year on year respectively, both accelerating from that in July, according to the National Energy Administration.

However, service sector saw its power consumption rise 10.8 percent last month, compared with a rise of 11.2 percent in July.

For the first eight months of the year, the country's power consumption increased 9 percent from one year earlier, unchanged from that registered during the January-July period.?