Electricity consumption is a barometer and indicator of economic performance. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that total electricity consumption reached 1,015.4 billion kWh in August, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%. This marks the second time electricity consumption has exceeded one trillion kWh, following the first such figure in July of this year. This is also a global first.
One trillion kWh is equivalent to more than three times the annual power generation of the world's largest clean energy corridor, comprising six cascade hydropower stations, including the Wudongde, Baihetan, and Three Gorges Dams, and is approximately twice my country's electricity consumption in July 2015.
Jiang Debin, Deputy Director of the Statistics and Digital Intelligence Department of the China Electricity Council, believes that the two consecutive months of monthly electricity consumption exceeding one trillion kWh are driven by the early and prolonged high temperatures and humidity this summer, which have driven rapid growth in residential electricity consumption. This also demonstrates the vigorous development of new-quality productivity, which is forming a new economic growth point and driving electricity consumption upward.
On the Production Side: The manufacturing industry's transformation towards "new" and "green" continues to show results.
At a semiconductor manufacturer in Chengdu, Sichuan, fully automated production lines are operating at full capacity. Not long ago, the company's expansion project, with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan, went into operation. "Order volume and various delivery indicators have reached new highs. We worked at full capacity to meet orders during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays." The company's head explained that electricity consumption in the first three quarters is expected to increase by approximately 50% year-on-year.
At Lynk & Co's Yuyao factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang, a robotic arm can tighten chassis screws in just 70 seconds. "The production line recently underwent an intelligent upgrade, and assembly efficiency is even higher than before," said Zhang Hui, the factory's chief electrical engineer. In August, the factory produced over 400 vehicles daily, with orders exceeding the original annual production plan. Power supply department data shows that electricity consumption in Ningbo's automotive manufacturing industry increased by 7% year-on-year in August.
In August, my country's industrial production maintained rapid growth. The added value of high-tech manufacturing industries above designated size increased by 9.3% year-on-year, contributing 28.5% to the overall growth of industrial production above designated size, driving electricity consumption growth in related industries.
Data from the China Electricity Council shows that national electricity consumption in the manufacturing industry increased by 5.5% year-on-year in August, the highest level so far this year. Electricity consumption in raw materials industries such as steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, and chemicals showed a clear recovery, with combined electricity consumption increasing by 4.2% year-on-year, up 3.7 percentage points from July. Electricity consumption in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries grew by 9.1% year-on-year, approximately 4.6 percentage points higher than the average manufacturing growth rate during the same period, with all sub-sectors achieving positive growth.
Transforming to "New," Upgrading to "Green."
On September 16th, Envision Energy's 10,000th self-developed and manufactured wind turbine gearbox rolled off the production line at its transmission chain factory in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. "Since the beginning of this year, the wind power industry has maintained rapid growth, and market demand has rebounded. In August, the transmission chain factory's gearbox production increased by 53% year-on-year," said Wang Zhiyong, co-head of Envision Energy's transmission chain manufacturing and operations department. This year's shipments of self-developed and manufactured gearboxes are expected to exceed 4,000 units, a year-on-year increase of over 60%.
In August, my country's wind turbine production grew rapidly, reaching a growth rate of 78.1%. Related products such as new energy vehicles, automotive lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells also performed well. The steady progress of green transformation has driven a rapid increase in electricity consumption.
In addition, stable agricultural production and the electrification of rural industries have also driven rapid growth in electricity consumption in the primary industry. In August, national electricity consumption in the primary industry reached 16.4 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%, 5.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
On the consumer side: Demand for tourism and other sectors has been concentrated, and online consumption has accelerated.
Since the beginning of this year, cultural and tourism consumption has been heating up, with active markets for sports events, film performances, and other sectors, continuing to unleash consumption potential. Local governments have intensified cultural and tourism consumption initiatives, further driving holiday spending and boosting electricity consumption in related industries.
In Tangshan, Hebei, Hetou Old Street is ablaze with lights, as tourists enjoy nighttime scenic spots and immersive experiences in traditional culture. Wang Hua, General Manager of Tangshan Fengnan District Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd., reported that electricity consumption in Fengnan District's cultural and tourism sector increased by over 23% year-on-year during this summer vacation.
In Jiangsu, the "Suzhou Super League" continues to be a hot commodity, with growth also occurring in catering, accommodation, and nighttime consumption. As night falls and the football matches begin, Xuzhou's Fengchu Street, a vibrant alleyway known for its vibrant food scene, attracts numerous residents and tourists.
"The combination of the Suzhou Super League and summer vacation has doubled electricity consumption in August compared to the same period last year," said Wang Fei, Deputy Director of the Chengdong Power Supply Service Center of the State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company. Driven by "sports events combined with cultural tourism consumption," electricity consumption in Xuzhou's accommodation and catering sectors increased by over 6.8% year-on-year in August.
While the potential of service consumption continues to be unleashed, online consumption is accelerating. In the first eight months of this year, online retail sales increased by 9.6% year-on-year. Both instant retail and livestream e-commerce transactions maintained double-digit growth.
At JD Logistics' Asia No. 1 Chengdu Smart Industrial Park intelligent sorting center, express delivery is accelerated by unmanned operations, automated handling, and intelligent logistics, enabling delivery within half a day, within hours, or even within minutes, significantly accelerating delivery times.
"Only half of the high-speed automatic sorting system, which was upgraded this year, is currently operational, but sorting efficiency has already increased by approximately 40%. We expect electricity consumption to reach new highs once the other half of the system is online." The head of the intelligent sorting center explained that the growth of new consumption trends like livestreaming has driven a rapid increase in JD Logistics' order volume.
Hu Zhaohui, spokesperson for State Grid Sichuan Electric Power Company, explained that the accelerated development of livestreaming e-commerce and smart logistics systems drove the monthly electricity consumption growth in Sichuan's wholesale and retail sectors, and transportation, to 11.36% and 9.46% respectively in August.
Investment: Strong growth in new infrastructure sectors
Strong growth in new infrastructure sectors like charging infrastructure, data centers, and 5G has also driven electricity consumption growth.
"A charge in less than 10 minutes gives you a 200-kilometer range." Mr. Huang, a resident of the Shenzhen Southern Power Grid Lianhuashan Supercharging Station in Guangdong Province, is a regular visitor. Currently, the station serves over 500 vehicles daily. As a city with more supercharging stations than gas stations and more charging points than gas pumps, Shenzhen has essentially achieved a "one-kilometer supercharging travel circle." In August of this year, Shenzhen's charging piles generated 660 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, a year-on-year increase of 14.31%.
"We plan to complete the 'one district, one demonstration station' deployment within this year, helping Shenzhen transition from convenient charging to a leading supercharging platform, bringing a better charging experience to more areas," said Ni Chang, Industry Planning Manager of the Emerging Industries Department of the Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau of the State Grid Corporation of China.
Data from the National Energy Administration shows that in the first half of the year, investment in my country's charging and swapping infrastructure increased by nearly 70% year-on-year. The first nine pilot cities for large-scale vehicle-grid interaction applications are accelerating the construction of intelligent charging and swapping infrastructure. By the end of August, the total number of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (charging plugs) in my country reached 17.348 million, a year-on-year increase of 53.5%.
Investment in charging infrastructure is accelerating to meet the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles. In the first eight months, electricity consumption in the charging and swapping service industry increased by 44.1% year-on-year. At the same time, the construction of new infrastructure such as big data centers and 5G base stations continues its rapid growth, driving electricity consumption growth.
In the computer rooms of the Guizhou Gui'an Supercomputing Center, rows of servers operate at a speed of 300 petaflops. Zhou Yu, project manager of the Technology R&D Department of Gui'an New District Science and Technology Innovation Industry Development Co., Ltd., explained that since the beginning of this year, the supercomputing center has provided computing power for the rendering and production of several domestic films, with a total of 639 servers in operation.
In the first eight months, electricity consumption in Gui'an New District's big data industry increased by 57.54% year-on-year. Nationwide, driven by the rapid development of mobile internet, big data, and cloud computing, electricity consumption in the internet and related service industries increased by 28.8% year-on-year in the first eight months.
The China Electricity Council stated that as my country promotes the transformation and upgrading of energy consumption, the substitution of electricity for terminal energy in industries such as industry, construction, transportation, and agriculture is deepening. The use of electricity to replace fossil fuels such as coal and oil burning is also a factor driving electricity consumption growth.
Notably, the "green content" of electricity consumption is also increasing. Today, for every 3 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed by society, 1 kilowatt-hour is green. In the first half of this year, wind power and photovoltaic power generation accounted for nearly a quarter of total electricity consumption, exceeding both the tertiary industry and urban and rural residents' electricity consumption during the same period. Renewable energy generation is making an increasingly significant contribution to electricity supply. (People's Daily)
