Nation's annual power use hits new milestone

China's annual electricity consumption surpassed 10 trillion kilowatt-hours for the first time in 2025, a milestone highlighting the country's accelerating shift toward high-tech manufacturing and broad-based electrification, industry experts said.

Total power usage reached around 10.4 trillion kWh last year, up 5 percent year-on-year, reinforcing China's position as the world's largest energy consumer, according to data from the National Energy Administration.

"Total power consumption, widely regarded as the 'barometer' of economic performance, is now more than double that of the United States and exceeds the combined annual power usage of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan," said Yang Kun, executive vice-chairman of the China Electricity Council.

The surge in demand is largely driven by China's concentrated push into high-end manufacturing and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence infrastructure, the energy administration's data said.

"The fact that power consumption has exceeded 10 trillion kWh reflects China's foundation as a manufacturing superpower and its comprehensive improvement in energy security," said Yang.

Yang noted that the dominance of "new manufacturing" in industrial power use is intensifying, with high-value-added and technology-intensive industries accounting for the additional demand.

Power demand for wind equipment jumped 30 percent, and that for electric vehicle production increased 20 percent, while traditional heavy industries saw growth slow to just 1.8 percent, he said.

According to forecasts by the International Energy Agency, global data center electricity consumption is projected to more than double by 2030, with China's domestic power demand expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8 to 9 percent through the end of the decade as AI infrastructure matures.

According to the China Electricity Council, the rapid development of the digital economy and emerging technologies has further catalyzed the growth in energy demand, with the accelerated roll-out of "new infrastructure", such as 5G base stations and electric vehicle charging piles, increasing power consumption in the internet and related service sector by more than 30 percent.

During the same period, power usage within the electric vehicle charging and battery-swapping industries surged by nearly 50 percent, it said.

To support this record-breaking demand, China has vigorously expanded its power infrastructure to accelerate the development of a high-quality supply chain for its new power system.

The State Grid Corporation of China, for example, expects to invest 4 trillion yuan ($574 billion) in fixed assets during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, up 40 percent compared with the previous cycle.

Targeting an annual increase of around 200 gigawatts in wind and solar capacity within its operating zones, the utility giant expects nonfossil energy to account for 25 percent of total consumption by 2030, while electricity is projected to reach 35 percent of terminal energy consumption.

China is looking to substantially expand its cross-country power transmission capacity to 420 gigawatts by 2030, as the world's second-largest economy advances the strategic modernization of its electrical grid to ensure energy security.

The nation aims to have nonfossil fuel sources account for roughly 30 percent of its total electricity generation before 2030, supported by a grid capable of integrating 900 GW of distributed solar and wind power, the National Energy Administration said.

China's power grid has already evolved into the world's largest and most advanced network in terms of transmission capacity, voltage levels and renewable integration, it said.

On the other hand, China has significantly deepened its power market reforms. Market-traded electricity has more than doubled since the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period and now accounts for over 60 percent of total consumption, up from 40 percent in 2020, according to the China Electricity Council.

Yang, the council's executive vice-chairman, said, "Over the past decade, China's power consumption has doubled from 5 trillion to 10 trillion kWh, a growth rate unparalleled among the world's major economies."