1.518 billion kilowatts, the national electricity load broke the historical extreme for the first time, exceeding the total load of the United States, Japan, and Russia. On July 14, 2026, it will reach a new high of 1.551 billion kilowatts. With a installed capacity of 4 billion kilowatts in hand, the power test for peak summer season is underway.

Electricity consumption far exceeds the total of the United States, Japan, and Russia

On July 10th, the national electricity load exceeded 1.5 billion kilowatts for the first time, reaching 1.518 billion kilowatts, an increase of 10 million kilowatts from the previous historical peak. Just four days later, on July 14th, the national electricity load reached a new high of 1.551 billion kilowatts, and the power grids in Central China, as well as four provincial-level power grids in southern Hebei, Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan, broke historical records on the same day. State Grid Corporation of China pointed out that this value has exceeded the total maximum load of the United States, Japan, and Russia.

The three major drivers driving the sharp increase in electricity consumption are the steady growth of industrial electricity consumption, and the continuous expansion of high-tech manufacturing and computing equipment industries; The power consumption of the service industry grew rapidly, and the power consumption growth of the charge and replacement service industry and the Internet data service industry both exceeded 40%; With the proportion of air conditioning cooling load in the country approaching 30% and some provinces exceeding 40%, high temperature weather is becoming the most direct variable.

4 billion kilowatts of installed capacity and 24.9 billion yuan of power grid project support

Faced with the fierce demand, the supply side is also accelerating. As of the end of May 2026, the installed power generation capacity in China has reached 4.01 billion kilowatts, and the proportion of clean energy installed capacity has risen to 62.2%. Synchronized efforts were made to promote inter provincial and inter regional power mutual assistance. On July 10th, the maximum power transmission across provinces, regions, and grids reached 263 million kilowatts, and on July 14th, it further increased to 278 million kilowatts.

As of June 30, 2026, all 168 key projects of State Grid for peak summer season have been put into operation on schedule, with a total investment of 24.9 billion yuan, an added substation capacity of 39.7 million kVA, and a total length of 3767 kilometers of transmission lines. The peak demand on the demand side is still refreshing, and the supply chain is also continuously tightening. This summer's power attack and defense battle not only tests the scale of installed capacity, but also the precision of power grid scheduling.Editor/Cheng Liting