BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's power use is expected to grow by 3 percent in 2017 due to a slowing economy, the China Electricity Council has said.

The growth marks a slow down from 2016, when the nation's power consumption grew 5 percent year on year to stand at 5.9 trillion kilowatt hours boosted by increased consumption from the service sector, the Council said in an annual report.

Power consumption is used to measure economic activity, confirming the growth momentum and ongoing restructuring of the world's second largest economy.

China is making a transition from an export-reliant economy to a service and innovation-driven one, with the economy expanding at 6.7 percent last year.

In 2016, the country has made progress in energy efficiency and clean energy. Energy use per unit of GDP fell 5 percent last year, official data showed.

Clean energy, including hydropower, wind power and natural gas, accounted for 19.5 percent of China's total energy consumption last year, up from 17.9 percent in 2015.