Power consumption, an indicator of economic activity, rose 9.5 percent year-on-year in October to 437.5 billion kWh, according to the National Energy Administration on Thursday.

Power consumption for industrial use in October was 322.1 billion kWh, a 7.2 percent increase on the previous month.

Due to milder weather and the government's efforts on reducing overcapacity in high-energy consuming industries such as steel and cement, electricity consumption this winter is lower than it was during the summer.

Total power consumption in the first ten months rose 7.4 percent year-on-year to 4.38 trillion kWh, up from the 7.2-percent increase recorded in the first nine months, according to the NEA.

China Electricity Council expects that power consumption growth in the fourth quarter will fall from 10.9 percent in the third quarter to about 6.5 percent, reaching a balance of supply and demand.

Ouyang Changyu, deputy sectary-general of CEC, estimated that China's power consumption in 2013 will rise 7 percent year-on-year to 5.3 trillion kWh.