Electricity serves as the "lifeblood" of modern society, while electricity consumption acts as a "barometer" and "indicator" of economic performance. The latest data from the National Energy Administration reveals that China's total electricity consumption for the entire society historically surpassed 100 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2025, reaching 104 trillion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 5%. This magnitude is unprecedented for a single country globally, equivalent to more than double the annual electricity consumption of the United States and exceeding the combined annual electricity consumption of the EU, Russia, India, and Japan. This figure is approximately double China's electricity consumption in 2015, representing a doubling over the past decade and highlighting the robust resilience and vigorous vitality of China's super-large-scale economy.
Analyzing the consumption structure, electricity demand is growing rapidly in sectors such as high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, and emerging technologies. The tertiary industry and residential electricity consumption together contributed 50% to the annual growth in electricity usage. Electricity consumption in the wind power equipment manufacturing and internet-related services sectors both increased by over 30% year-on-year, while the growth rate for the battery swapping and charging industry approached 50%. These new shifts in the electricity consumption structure and the emergence of new consumption scenarios reflect the continuous improvement in people's quality of life and confirm the upgrading of China's industrial structure and the trend towards a newer, higher-quality economic development.
Notably, for every 3 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed in society, 1 kilowatt-hour is green power. According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, clean energy generation—including hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, and solar power from industrial enterprises above a designated size—reached 3.4 trillion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 8.8% over the previous year. This accounted for 35.2% of the total power generation from these enterprises, up 2.1 percentage points year-on-year. Concurrently, the share of installed non-fossil energy capacity exceeded 60% for the year, signaling that clean energy is transitioning from a supplementary role to a primary energy source.
The comprehensive enhancement of energy security capabilities accompanies the historical process of green transformation and relies on the complementary support and mutual assistance of various power sources and regional grids. In 2025, China's inter-regional and inter-provincial power transmission capacity reached 370 million kilowatts. Across the country, 46 ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission lines have established "express channels" for electricity, further densifying the nationwide energy transmission network characterized by "Transmitting Power from West to East" and "Supplying Power from North to South." New-type energy storage maintained rapid development, with cumulative installed capacity surpassing 100 million kilowatts, accounting for over 40% of the global total and firmly ranking first in the world.
From coal-fired power generation technology achieving the world's highest thermal efficiency to the large-scale development of clean energy technologies, and from the world-leading UHV transmission network to AI-empowered grid management, China is redefining the development potential of the power industry through the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. In this process, the construction of a national unified electricity market is progressing steadily and swiftly. In 2025, the volume of electricity traded in the national market reached 6.6 trillion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%, raising its share of total societal electricity consumption to 64%.
As the hub for the conversion of primary to secondary energy, electricity holds a central position within the energy system. Institutions widely predict that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period (2026-2030), China's average annual growth rate for total electricity consumption will be between 4.2% and 5.6%, with consumption expected to exceed 130 trillion kilowatt-hours by 2030. As new energy sources gradually become the primary energy supply, challenges such as energy security, green power integration, and price signal transmission become difficult to balance and solve within small regional confines, making the accelerated construction of a national unified electricity market an inevitable choice.
The proposals for the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline call for "focusing on building a new-type power system" and "comprehensively enhancing the complementary support, mutual assistance, and security resilience of the power system." The new-type power system imposes higher demands on electricity market construction, requiring not only continuous technological innovation but also bold breakthroughs in market mechanisms. By persistently advancing reforms into deeper levels, the surging and abundant power supply will better empower the Chinese economy and illuminate a bright future.
Comments