NANJING - East China's economic powerhouse Jiangsu province saw its electricity consumption reach 637.4 billion kWh in 2020, up 1.75 percent from 2019, hitting a record high despite the impact of COVID-19.

As the economy picked up and the cold weather set in, Jiangsu's total electricity consumption showed 9.5 percent year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter last year. In December alone, the growth rate reached 13.7 percent, said the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co Ltd.

Affected by the epidemic, electricity consumption dropped by 13.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020.

After the epidemic was contained across the country, companies in the province started resuming business in April and industrial power consumption has continued to recover ever since.

In 2020, 20 out of the 31 sub-divided manufacturing sectors showed positive growth in electricity consumption in the province, including photovoltaic equipment manufacturing, which saw 211.4 percent year-on-year growth.

Of the service sectors, the internet data services and electric-vehicle charging and battery swapping services showed rapid growth in electricity consumption, registering year-on-year increases of 109.1 percent and 288.4 percent, respectively.

The service sector has been an important engine for electricity consumption, which indicated vigorous industrial restructuring and upgrading in Jiangsu, said Li Hu, a researcher with the company.