Power Demand Surges in High-tech Manufacturing and Digital Services as China Releases May Electricity Consumption Figures

Per official disclosures from the National Energy Administration on the 18th, China’s total electricity consumption across all sectors hit 867.1 billion kilowatt-hours in May, marking a year-on-year expansion of 6.9 per cent.

Breakdowns by industrial category show consistent growth across all demand segments. Primary industry power use reached 12.4 billion kWh, climbing 5.0 per cent from the same month a year earlier. 

Secondary industries consumed 575.3 billion kWh, a 6.0 per cent annual rise; industrial power demand alone stood at 570.3 billion kWh, up 6.2 per cent, with high-end equipment manufacturing accounting for 109.1 billion kWh and delivering a double-digit annual increase of 12.2 per cent. 

Tertiary industry electricity intake totalled 170.4 billion kWh, representing a 9.7 per cent year-on-year uplift. Two fast-expanding service subsectors recorded exceptional growth rates: charging and battery swap services used 14.9 billion kWh, rising 59.9 per cent annually, while internet data service power demand hit 9.0 billion kWh with a 45.4 per cent year-on-year gain. Residential electricity consumption for urban and rural households amounted to 109 billion kWh, growing 7.5 per cent year on year.

Analytical data compiled by the China Electricity Council outlines structural shifts within industrial power demand. National manufacturing electricity consumption rose 5.8 per cent year-on-year in May, 4.6 percentage points higher than the growth rate recorded twelve months prior. High-tech equipment manufacturing’s 12.2 per cent annual growth in May outperformed last year’s equivalent reading by 6.3 percentage points and April’s figure by an extra 2.2 percentage points. All subcategories within this manufacturing segment registered double-digit power consumption expansion except pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal goods production. 

Robust retail and overseas shipments of new energy passenger vehicles drove power usage for complete NEV manufacturing up 25.5 per cent year on year. Electricity demand for photovoltaic equipment and component production fell 8.7 per cent, yet the scale of decline narrowed by 7.9 percentage points compared with April’s performance.

Cumulative power use across the first five months of the year reached 4,201.8 billion kWh, with a 5.7 per cent year-on-year increase. Primary industry consumption over January to May stood at 57.4 billion kWh, growing 5.6 per cent annually. 

Secondary industries drew 2,732.4 billion kWh of power, a 5.1 per cent year-on-year rise; industrial power demand made up 2,707.8 billion kWh of this total, expanding 5.3 per cent, and high-tech equipment manufacturing consumed 488.7 billion kWh with a 9.7 per cent annual lift. Tertiary industry cumulative electricity intake reached 805.5 billion kWh, up 8.6 per cent year on year. 

Charging and battery swap services recorded cumulative power consumption of 66.2 billion kWh with 56.8 per cent annual growth, while internet data services used 40.3 billion kWh, rising 44.6 per cent year on year. Residential power consumption for the first five months hit 606.5 billion kWh, representing a 4.5 per cent annual increase.

Power market observers note that surging demand from digital infrastructure, electric vehicle supporting services and advanced manufacturing lines reflects ongoing structural optimisation within China’s economic landscape. Continued expansion of data centre capacity and nationwide charging networks maintains upward pressure on tertiary sector electricity consumption. Manufacturing plants focused on new energy vehicle production operate at elevated utilisation rates to satisfy domestic and cross-border market orders, sustaining elevated power draw from high-tech industrial facilities.

Grid operation bodies nationwide scale up generation and transmission capacity allocation to match climbing monthly and cumulative power demand. Renewable energy output continues to expand to meet rising industrial and commercial electricity requirements, supporting stable supply conditions for fast-growing high-value manufacturing and digital service segments in subsequent months.