BEIJING - China's power consumption rose 9.91 percent to 383.6 billion kWh in November from a year earlier, the slowest growth in three months, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said Wednesday.

The growth of electricity consumption, which is believed to be a key indicator measuring the economic vitality, was slower than the 11.35 percent in October and the 12.2 percent in September, but was higher than the 9.1 percent in August, according to NEA data.

In the first 11 months, electricity consumption amounted to 4.28 trillion kWh, up 11.85 percent year-on-year, the NEA said in a statement.

In an industry breakdown, primary industries saw growth amounting to 94.5 billion kWh in the January-November period, up 3.77 percent year-on-year. The secondary industries remained the top power user with electricity consumption rising 12.13 percent year-on-year to 3.21 trillion kWh.

Tertiary industries recorded the fastest yearly electricity consumption growth of 13.74 percent in the first 11 months, with total consumption hitting 465.8 billion kWh.

Residential electricity consumption gained 10.05 percent to 516.7 billion kWh from January to November, according to NEA.

In the January-November period, the country invested 309.3 billion yuan ($48.8 billion) in power projects, including 78.2 billion yuan in hydroelectric power, 91.5 billion yuan in thermal power, 65.6 billion yuan in nuclear power and 64.2 billion yuan in wind power projects.