China's 2025 power consumption tops 10 trillion kWh for first time: NEA

China's annual electricity consumption surpassed 10 trillion kWh for the first time in 2025, the National Energy Administration said on its official WeChat account Jan. 17, cementing the country's position as the world's largest single-country power consumer.

The milestone highlights China's ongoing economic and energy transition, underpinned by robust green infrastructure and a resilient power system, industry analysts said.

Total power consumption reached 10,368.2 TWh in 2025, up 5% year over year, driven primarily by the services sector and residential demand, which accounted for 50% of the overall growth. Services sector power use climbed 8.2% to 1,994.2 TWh, while residential consumption rose 6.3% to 1,588.0 TWh. The primary and secondary sectors consumed 149.4 TWh and 6,636.6 TWh, respectively, increasing 9.9% and 3.7% year over year.

Within the services sector, electricity demand for electric vehicle charging and battery swapping surged 48.8%, while power use in IT-related industries grew 17%, reflecting expansion in green mobility and the digital economy.

China's annual power consumption now exceeds the combined total of the EU, Russia, India, and Japan, and is more than twice that of the US, the NEA said, noting that the country's power demand has doubled from 5 trillion kWh in 2015, underscoring the scale and speed of its economic transformation.

"Such a growth rate in power consumption is unprecedented among major economies," said Yang Kun, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council. "It reflects China's status as a manufacturing and population powerhouse, as well as the country's enhanced energy security and ongoing green transition."

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Green power expands

To support the record demand, China has accelerated the construction of renewable energy capacity and grid infrastructure, the NEA said.

By the end of November 2025, the country's wind and solar installed capacity reached 1,760 GW, up 34% year over year. Non-fossil fuel power generation accounted for over 60% of total installed capacity, making it the dominant source of electricity.

"One in every three kWh consumed in China now comes from green sources," the NEA added.

China also put four new ultra-high voltage transmission lines into operation in 2025, raising cross-provincial transmission capacity to 370 GW. The country now operates 46 ultra-high voltage lines, enhancing the delivery of clean energy from resource-rich western regions to high-demand eastern and southern provinces.

To address renewable intermittency, China has accelerated the construction of energy storage facilities.

By the end of 2025, China's pumped hydro storage capacity exceeded 66 GW, with more than 80% of stations having storage capacity of 1 GW or above. New types of energy storage surpassed 100 GW, up more than 30-fold from the end of 2020, NEA data showed.

Power use shows economic shift

The breakdown of power use also highlights China's ongoing economic restructuring, the NEA said.

The secondary sector (manufacturing) remained the largest power consumer, accounting for 64% of total demand, but growth momentum has shifted from traditional heavy industries to high-end manufacturing.

In Zhejiang's Ningbo, electricity use in new energy vehicle manufacturing, aerospace, and advanced equipment sectors all saw double-digit growth. In Jiangsu, annual power consumption by the computer, communications, and electronics industries topped 50 TWh for the first time, overtaking steel and chemicals to lead all manufacturing segments.

Strategic emerging industries in Jiangsu posted an 11.2% increase in power use, outpacing overall manufacturing growth by 7.6 percentage points, evidence of the province's shift toward advanced, intelligent, and green production, the NEA said, citing State Grid Jiangsu data.

On the consumer side, the proliferation of EVs pushed electricity demand for charging services up nearly 50% in Hangzhou, where 5,011 charging stations were built in 2025. The digital economy is also fueling regional power growth -- Guizhou's internet data services consumption soared 95% year over year, and the Huawei Cloud data center in Gui'an saw a 56.9% increase.

"Rapid growth in high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, and emerging technologies is reshaping power consumption patterns and reflects China's ongoing economic optimization and industrial upgrading," said Yang Kun.