In 2025, against the backdrop of profound changes in the global economic landscape and accelerated transformation of the energy system towards green and low-carbon, China's economic and social development will usher in a landmark achievement - the national total electricity consumption is expected to historically exceed 10 trillion kilowatt hours, ranking first in the world and significantly leading the total of major economies. This number is not only a direct quantification of China's economic scale and resilience, but also a concentrated reflection of its industrial transformation towards innovation driven, continuous upgrading of consumption structure, and systematic breakthroughs in the energy revolution. It marks that the Chinese economy still maintains strong internal vitality in a complex external environment, and continues to write a green chapter of high-quality development with a unique structural growth path while ensuring energy security.

The structural change of electricity

The cornerstone of 10 trillion kilowatt hours is not only the scale, but also the profound structural optimization behind it. Its growth has decoupled from the expansion of traditional high energy consuming industries and is now strongly driven by new quality productivity and new consumer demand.

On the production side, the driving force for growth comes from industries that represent the future. From January to November, the growth rate of electricity consumption in sub sectors such as new energy vehicle manufacturing and wind power equipment manufacturing exceeded 20%. Behind this is a vast and active high-tech manufacturing system that creates higher industrial added value with lower energy intensity. At the same time, the year-on-year growth rate of electricity consumption in the Internet and related service industries exceeded 30%, revealing that the demand for energy consumption at the bottom of the digital economy as a new infrastructure is expanding rapidly.

On the consumer side, the growth of electricity is closely linked to the upgrading of people's quality of life and new consumption hotspots. The electricity consumption of the charging and swapping service industry, which has grown by nearly 50%, depicts the thriving scene of China's new energy vehicle market; The growth in residential electricity consumption brought about by cultural and tourism consumption and the popularization of smart home appliances demonstrates the strong resilience and vitality of the domestic demand market. The current carries a huge consumer market that pursues a more convenient, intelligent, and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Energy security from total growth to high-quality development

More importantly, what supports this 10 trillion kilowatt hour electricity consumption is an accelerating green and increasingly intelligent and flexible energy network. This is not only a guarantee of quantity, but also a qualitative leap.

On the supply side, the increasing green content continues to rise. It is expected that the total installed capacity of wind and photovoltaic power will increase by about 370 million kilowatts throughout the year, contributing about 22% of the total electricity consumption of the society. At the same time, the installed capacity of new energy storage in China has exceeded 100 million kilowatts, providing a key stabilizer for the stable consumption of volatile new energy. A modern power system with diverse, green, and complementary power structures is taking shape.

On the system side, the reliability and flexibility of the power grid are globally leading hard core capabilities. Relying on the world's highest voltage level ultra-high voltage transmission network and the ability to connect large-scale new energy to the grid, electricity can be efficiently distributed across regions. At the same time, the innovative application of demand side management methods, from time of use electricity prices in Shandong to virtual power plants in Sichuan, marks a profound transformation of the power system from the traditional model of source following load to a new model of source grid load storage interaction. Keywords: energy news, electricity news

10 trillion kilowatt hours is not only a milestone, but also a new starting point. It records the revolutionary reshaping of energy consumption patterns and supply systems in the process of China's economy shifting from high-speed growth to high-quality development. The flickering lights of thousands of households, roaring smart factories, and quietly rotating fans and photovoltaic panels together form a strong, innovative, and green animation of the Chinese economy, providing a solid and bright energy foundation for future sustainable development.Editor/Cheng Liting