China’s electricity consumption reached a record high of 1.04 trillion kilowatt-hours in July, driven primarily by growth in high-tech manufacturing, internet data services, and the electric vehicle industry, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).
By the end of July, the country’s total installed power generation capacity stood at 4.08 billion kilowatts, marking an 11 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Renewable energy sources, particularly solar and wind power, continue to lead this expansion. Solar capacity rose 16.1 percent to 1.29 billion kilowatts, while wind capacity increased by 19.5 percent to 690 million kilowatts.
The NEA highlighted significant structural changes in power demand, with notable shifts occurring within the secondary and tertiary economic sectors. Wu Liqiang, assistant to the director of the statistics and data center at the China Electricity Council, noted an 8.9 percent rise in electricity consumption by high-tech and equipment manufacturing, which contributed 55.8 percent of the secondary sector’s overall power growth. Within this category, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, along with computer, communications, and other electronic equipment manufacturing, expanded rapidly. These two subsectors together accounted for roughly one-third of the nation’s total increase in power consumption in July. By contrast, electricity use growth in four major energy-intensive industries remained sluggish.
The tertiary sector recorded the fastest growth among all industries, with power consumption rising 4.8 percent year-on-year in July. This increase was largely driven by a 50.3 percent surge in electricity demand for electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery-swapping services, alongside a 40.1 percent rise in internet data services. These emerging segments accounted for more than 80 percent of the tertiary sector’s incremental power consumption.
On the supply side, China continued its rapid transition toward cleaner energy sources. By the end of June, total installed capacity reached 4.04 billion kilowatts, making China the first country worldwide to surpass the 4-billion-kilowatt threshold. Solar power capacity has reached parity with coal-fired capacity, and nonfossil energy sources now represent 62.4 percent of total installed capacity. For the first half of 2026, coal-fired power generation fell below 49.7 percent of the total, underscoring a shift toward a cleaner energy system.
Major state-owned power companies have reflected these trends in their operations. China Energy Investment Corp generated close to 600 billion kilowatt-hours in the first half of the year, with total capacity exceeding 400 million kilowatts. China Huaneng Group also reported record profits, with its clean energy portfolio making up 58.46 percent of its total capacity.
Infrastructure investment is supporting the expansion of renewable power. National grid investment reached 302.7 billion yuan (approximately $44.89 billion) in the first half of the year, a 4.0 percent increase from 2025. State Grid Corporation of China completed fixed-asset investments exceeding 310 billion yuan, enabling 3.48 trillion kilowatt-hours of market-based electricity trading and facilitating cross-regional power sharing and renewable energy consumption nationwide.