Electricity consumption serves as a barometer for economic performance. Data released by the National Energy Administration on January 17th shows that in 2025, the total electricity consumption of the whole society reached 10,368.2 billion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%. Industry insiders stated that the total societal electricity consumption exceeding 10 trillion kilowatt-hours is a global first. Behind this historic milestone lies a profound transformation in the electricity consumption structure across various industries. According to the National Energy Administration data, by sector, electricity consumption for the primary industry was 149.4 billion kWh, up 9.9% year-on-year; for the secondary industry, it was 6,636.6 billion kWh, up 3.7%; for the tertiary industry, it was 1,994.2 billion kWh, up 8.2%; and residential electricity consumption was 1,588.0 billion kWh, up 6.3%. The tertiary industry and residential consumption together contributed 50% to the growth in electricity usage. This massive scale of electricity consumption is not merely a numerical breakthrough but carries deep-seated economic significance. Globally, China's electricity consumption surpasses the combined total of several major economies, reflecting the foundational characteristics of China's development as a major manufacturing and populous nation, and also demonstrating the comprehensive enhancement of its energy security capabilities. These "10 trillion kWh" are now deeply integrated into people's livelihoods and the green transition, becoming a vital support for high-quality development.
What exactly does the milestone of total societal electricity consumption breaking through 10 trillion kWh signify? Yang Kun, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council, stated that China's total societal electricity consumption exceeding 10 trillion kWh in 2025 is a global first, equivalent to more than twice the annual electricity consumption of the United States, and also higher than the combined total annual electricity consumption of the European Union, Russia, India, and Japan. China's electricity scale firmly holds the top position globally, showcasing the robust resilience and developmental vitality of its mega-sized economy. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's electricity consumption maintained a steady growth rhythm. Jiang Debin, Deputy Director of the Statistics and Data Center at the China Electricity Council, stated that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's average annual new electricity consumption was 563.6 billion kWh. The average annual growth rate during the "14th Five-Year Plan" was approximately 6.6%, 0.9 percentage points higher than the average annual growth rate of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. It is noteworthy that the significant growth in electricity consumption in 2025 is also closely related to temporary factors. In July and August 2025, the national total societal electricity consumption exceeded one trillion kilowatt-hours for two consecutive months. "This is also a global first," Yang Kun stated, attributing this to a steadily improving economy, persistent high temperatures, and the increasing electrification of households, which significantly boosted residential electricity demand.
While overall electricity consumption grew steadily, the divergent growth rates across different industries more acutely reflect the profound changes in China's economic structure, with the primary and tertiary industries showing particularly prominent growth. In 2025, the growth rates for the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and residential electricity consumption were 9.9%, 3.7%, 8.2%, and 6.3%, respectively. Jiang Debin indicated that the leading growth in electricity consumption by the primary and tertiary industries highlights the continuous improvement in agricultural electrification levels under the rural revitalization strategy and the accelerated growth of production and lifestyle services. The secondary industry remains the "foundation" of electricity consumption. In 2025, secondary industry electricity consumption was 6.63 trillion kWh, accounting for approximately 64.0% of the total societal consumption, reflecting a slowdown in the growth of traditional industrial electricity use and the ongoing reshaping of electricity demand elasticity due to industrial upgrading. Jiang Debin further analyzed that, by major manufacturing categories, electricity consumption in high-tech and equipment manufacturing grew by 6.4% in 2025, with all sub-sectors achieving positive growth. The top three growth rates were in automotive manufacturing (up 10.9%), general equipment manufacturing (up 8.7%), and instrument manufacturing (up 7.6%). The dominant role of "new manufacturing" in industrial electricity consumption continues to strengthen, with a greater share of new electricity demand being contributed by high-value-added, technology-intensive industries. In stark contrast to high-tech and equipment manufacturing, the four major high-energy-consumption industries showed relatively modest growth in electricity consumption. "The growth rate for the four major high-energy-consumption industries was relatively low, at 1.8% year-on-year. Among the sub-sectors achieving positive growth were smelting and pressing of ferrous metals (up 3.7%), raw chemical materials and chemical products (up 3.3%), and smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals (up 1.7%)," Jiang Debin explained.
While the industrial electricity structure continues to optimize, the tertiary industry has become a new engine driving electricity consumption with its strong growth. Jiang Debin noted that in 2025, tertiary industry electricity consumption was 2.0 trillion kWh, accounting for approximately 19.2% of the total societal consumption. "Particularly notable is the outstanding growth in electricity consumption for new types of infrastructure and new business formats. Sectors like battery swapping and charging services, and information transmission/software and IT services maintained high growth, with these two industries growing by 48.8% and 17.0% year-on-year respectively in 2025, indicating that new electricity demand is increasingly flowing towards new scenarios and services." He also mentioned that in 2025, urban and rural residential electricity consumption was 1.59 trillion kWh, a year-on-year increase of about 6.3%, with its share of total societal consumption rising to around 15.6%. Disaggregated by area, the average annual growth rates for urban and rural residential electricity consumption were 6.4% and 6.2%, respectively, indicating a gradual narrowing of the urban-rural electricity consumption gap and reflecting the continuous improvement in the equalization of public services between urban and rural areas. Overall, the electricity data reflects the optimized upgrading of China's economic structure. Yang Kun stated that, looking at the 2025 electricity consumption data, high-end manufacturing has formed a new growth point for electricity demand, with sectors like new energy vehicles and wind power equipment manufacturing growing by over 20% and 30%, respectively. Furthermore, the rapid development of the digital economy and emerging technologies has led to fast-growing electricity demand. The accelerated construction of new infrastructure such as charging piles and 5G base stations drove electricity consumption in the internet and related services sector to increase by over 30% year-on-year, and the battery swapping and charging industry's electricity consumption to grow by nearly 50% year-on-year. "The energy and power sector, by actively building a new energy system, vigorously cultivating new quality productive forces, adhering to technological innovation leadership, continuously promoting green and low-carbon transformation, and facilitating the high-quality leapfrog development of new and renewable energy, has provided a strong energy and power guarantee for the modernization drive in the Chinese context," Yang Kun stated.
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