SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Industrial power consumption in South Korea rose in the third quarter due to brisk exports of semiconductors, a government report showed Tuesday.
Electricity consumption in the industrial sector reached 73.3 billion kilowatts per hour in the July-September quarter, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
It was the biggest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2013. The industrial power usage accounted for 56 percent of the total electricity consumption of the country.
The strong power demand was attributed to fast export growth coming mainly from solid demand for locally-made semiconductors.
By industry, electricity consumption in the chip industry jumped 8.3 percent in the quarter, taking up 17.4 percent of the total industrial power usage.
Power consumption in the steel industry gained 3.6 percent, but demand in the shipbuilding sector tumbled 16.7 percent, keeping a downward momentum for three quarters in a row.
Overall electricity consumption, including industrial and private ones, reached 130.9 billion kilowatts per hour in the third quarter, up 3.7 percent from a year ago.
For commercial purpose, electricity consumption rose 2.1 percent, while the power usage for household purpose, inched up 0.5 percent.
