China's Electricity Load Hits Record Highs Amid Summer Heatwaves and Industrial Growth

China’s national electricity load hit historic peaks three times this July, reaching a record 1.553 billion kilowatts amid high summer temperatures and sustained economic activity, according to officials from the National Energy Administration (NEA). For the first half of the year, total power consumption rose 5.3% year-on-year to 5.1 trillion kilowatt-hours, propelled by secondary industry production and rapid demand from emerging sectors like electric vehicle charging and internet data centers. Energy authorities reported that nationwide electricity supply remains overall stable, bolstered by expanding generation capacity and ultra-high voltage transmission corridors.

Electricity consumption serves as a direct barometer for industrial activity and structural economic adjustment in China. The record-breaking electricity demand reflects momentum in high-tech manufacturing and digital infrastructure—including artificial intelligence and electric vehicles—while testing the resilience of the national energy grid during extreme summer heatwaves.

China’s national power load set record highs three times this July, peaking at 1.553 billion kilowatts as summer heatwaves combined with steady economic activity to drive up electricity demand, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). Speaking at a news conference, Liu Mingyang, deputy director of the NEA’s Electricity Department, noted that the highest peak exceeded last year’s record by approximately 45 million kilowatts. Four regional power grids—including East and Central China—broke load records seven times since June, while 15 provincial-level grids, such as Jiangsu, Hubei, and Sichuan, reached historical highs a combined 32 times. Despite the heavy demand, nationwide power supply has remained stable without resorting to forced load shedding or demand-response rationing. According to Liu, China added about 400 million kilowatts of generation capacity between June last year and June this year, including 110 million kilowatts of supporting baseload capacity from hydropower, gas, and coal. Transmission infrastructure also expanded, with 46 ultra-high voltage (UHV) channels now in operation, following the commissioning of the Shanbei-Anhui UHV direct-current project. Coal inventories at power plants under direct state dispatch remain above 30 days of consumption. The summer surge follows steady demand growth in the first half of the year. According to Xing Yiteng, deputy director of the NEA’s Development Planning Department, total electricity consumption reached 5.0999 trillion kilowatt-hours from January to June, representing a 5.3% year-on-year increase. Secondary industry remained the primary engine of growth, contributing 3.3 percentage points to the overall rise. High-tech and equipment manufacturing power use expanded 9.8% year-on-year to 600.8 billion kilowatt-hours, led by a 13.7% jump in electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing. Emerging tertiary sectors also delivered significant gains. Power demand from electric vehicle charging and battery swap services surged 56.9% year-on-year to 81 billion kilowatt-hours, while internet data center electricity consumption rose 44% to 49.4 billion kilowatt-hours. Together, these two emerging sectors contributed 0.9 percentage points to total power demand growth. Regionally, power consumption grew fastest in Tibet (+15.5%), Hainan (+12.5%), Guangxi (+10.9%), Xinjiang (+9.3%), and Guangdong (+9.1%). Looking ahead, the NEA warned that if persistent heatwaves spread further, peak national power load could reach approximately 1.6 billion kilowatts later this summer, though overall supply is expected to remain balanced.