S.Korea's industrial power sales grow 2.3 pct in Aug.

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's industrial power sales grew at a moderate pace last month due to continued fall in exports, a government report showed Thursday.

Sales of industrial electricity, a gauge of industrial activities, reached 21.38 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in August, up 2.3 percent from the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. For the first eight months of this year, industrial power sales expanded 3.2 percent on-year to 172. 43 billion kilowatt-hours.

Electricity consumption in the industrial sector grew at a slow pace last month due to weak exports that tumbled 6.2 percent in August from a year before.

Meanwhile, total power sales, including industrial and household sectors, expanded 4.0 percent on-year to 39.9 billion kilowatt-hours in August.

The prolonged heat wave and tropical nights pushed up electricity consumption for cooling, the ministry said. Heat wave, which refers to when the highest temperature during the day reaches above 33 degrees Celsius, lasted for 11 days last month in the country's five major cities.

Electricity sales for household usage surged 12.5 percent in August from a year earlier, with those for educational facilities usage jumping 8 percent last month. Enditem

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