Electricity consumption by South Korea's industrial sector rose moderately from a year earlier in the third quarter, fueled by higher demand from automakers, chemical producers and machinery equipment companies, the government said Wednesday.

Sales of industrial electricity came to 68.63 billion kilowatt-hours in the July-September period, up 1 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Electricity sales serve as a barometer of industrial activity as companies use more electricity when business is good and cut back to cope with a drop in demand.

"The rise was helped by more power being used by local carmakers, chemical producers and machinery equipment companies that offset the drop in demand from the steel, semiconductor and refined petroleum sectors," the ministry said.

Power sales to carmakers rose 1.1 percent on-year to 4.47 billion kwh, with numbers for chemical companies rising 1.7 percent to 9.17 billion kwh. Demand from machinery equipment companies rose 7.3 percent.

Steel and semiconductor sectors, on the other hand, which are the two largest electricity consumers, used up less power in the July-September period.

Sales to steelmakers fell 5.4 percent on-year to 11.11 billion kwh, with the figure for semiconductors edging down 0.5 percent to 10.10 billion kwh.

Electricity sales in the commercial sector that include large retailers rose 4.2 percent on-year to 27.79 billion kwh, while power used by ordinary homes gained 4.1 percent to 17.13 billion kwh.

Commercial power sales were bolstered by the launch of nationwide retail discount events like the Korea Grand sale in August, while household power use moved up as more people turned on their air conditioners during the hot summer months.

The ministry added that the 46 percent drop in rainfall in the third quarter vis-a-vis the year before caused farmers to use more electricity to get water to their fields and rice paddies. This resulted in an 8.5 percent on-year spike in electricity sales that reached 3.69 billion kwh.

Total sales of electric power, meanwhile, rose 2.4 percent on-year to 121.06 billion kwh in the three-month period, according to the ministry. It said the increase marks the sharpest gain since the 2.6 percent rise tallied in the fourth quarter of 2013. (Yonhap)