China's electricity consumption during the first two months of 2009 fell 5.1 percent from a year earlier to 497.3 billion kilowatt hours, the China Electricity Council (CEC) said Tuesday.

However, the decline was smaller than in November and December, when power use fell 8.6 percent and 8.93 percent, respectively.

According to CEC, the slowing pace of decline was a sign of economic recovery, as industrial use accounts for about 75 percent of total consumption.

A full breakdown of the figures was still being calculated, CEC said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2009)