China’s National Energy Administration reported that national electricity consumption in January–February 2026 rose 6.1% year-on-year to 16,546 hundred-million kilowatt-hours (about 1,654.6 billion kWh). The gain reflects a broad-based increase across the economy: primary-sector use was up 7.4%, industrial demand rose 6.4%, and services expanded fastest, growing 8.3%.
Within the secondary and tertiary sectors the composition of growth points to structural change. Second‑industry consumption reached 10,279 hundred‑million kWh (roughly 1,027.9 billion kWh), with high‑tech and equipment manufacturing electric use up 10.6%. Third‑industry demand stood at 3,231 hundred‑million kWh (about 323.1 billion kWh); electricity for charging and battery‑swap services surged 55.1% and internet data services demand jumped 46.2%.
Household electricity use rose more moderately, up 2.7% to 2,813 hundred‑million kWh (about 281.3 billion kWh), indicating limited pickup in residential consumption relative to the commercial and industrial upswing. The January–February window includes Lunar New Year holiday effects that typically mute some industrial activity and reweight consumption patterns, but the overall two‑month increase nonetheless signals resilient power demand early in the year.
The striking acceleration in charging services and data‑center electricity highlights two concurrent trends: rapid electrification of transport and an expanding digital economy. The 55% rise in EV charging and swapping electricity is consistent with faster adoption of battery electric vehicles and denser charging infrastructure, while the nearly 46% increase for internet data services mirrors a continued build‑out of hyperscale data centres and cloud infrastructure.
For energy policy and markets, those shifts matter. Rising electricity demand from vehicles and data centres increases peak and baseload pressure on grids and raises the premium on flexible generation, storage and transmission upgrades. In the near term that can translate into higher utilisation of existing thermal capacity unless renewable and storage deployments and grid upgrades keep pace, complicating China’s decarbonisation pathway even as the economy electrifies.
Commercial and industrial patterns also carry investment signals. Faster electricity intensity in high‑tech and equipment manufacturing suggests upgrading of industrial processes and policy success in moving production up the value chain, supporting demand for advanced machinery and electrified production. Utilities, grid operators and clean‑energy developers will be watching whether this early‑year momentum endures and how regional demand centers evolve, since the NEA release does not break down provincial or seasonal load shapes.