Equipment makers, high-tech lift power

A technician checks a power transmission line in Taizhou, Jiangsu province. (SHI JUN/FOR CHINA DAILY)

Driven by the rapid development of the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors, China saw its electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rise 7.9 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, said the China Electricity Council.

Electricity consumption in the two key sectors grew 11.4 percent year-on-year during the period, a 1.3 percentage point increase from the same period last year, said Jiang Debin, deputy director of the council's statistics and data center.

Soaring electricity consumption in these advanced sectors and the production of specialized equipment and machinery reflect an ongoing trend of transformation and upgrade within manufacturing, Jiang said.

High-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors include areas involved in electronics, aerospace, robotics, precision machinery and other high-value tech-intensive manufacturing activities. These sectors typically require advanced engineering, specialized manufacturing techniques, and often high levels of automation to meet the demands for quality and precision.

Within these key sectors, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing led with a robust 19.1 percent increase, while computers, communications and electronics equipment manufacturing saw a 14.4 percent uptick. Instrumentation manufacturing followed closely behind, posting an 11.6 percent rise, and the auto industry grew by 11.1 percent, said the council.

In a sign of the growing emphasis on renewable energy, electricity consumption for photovoltaic equipment and component manufacturing surged 36.2 percent compared to last year. Additionally, wind power equipment production in the general equipment sector climbed 19.6 percent, underscoring China's commitment to supporting green technology development as part of its broader industrial upgrade, it said.

Jiang said that driven by mobile internet, big data and cloud computing sectors, electricity consumption for internet data services also increased 24.4 percent year-on-year during the first nine months.

The rapid growth of electric vehicles, meanwhile, led to a 56.7 percent year-on-year increase in electricity consumption for charging and battery swapping services, he said.

Analysts say that given the country's ambitious targets of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, the power sector is likely to keep investing in the development of new energy sources.

The energy sector is poised to accelerate investment in new energy sources, driven by the strong policy support for renewable energy as solar and wind power remain central to reducing emissions across the grid, said Wang Lining, director of the oil market department of the Economics and Technology Research Institute under China National Petroleum Corp.

As these technologies mature, we're likely to see power consumption being increasingly driven by the expansion of these sectors and the transition will fuel substantial infrastructure investment, Wang said.

Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, said solar and wind are expected to be major growth engines in the next decade with continuous investment in the power sector.

"As these investments intensify, the energy sector will need to develop robust power storage solutions and grid modernization efforts to support an influx of intermittent renewable sources, paving the way for a more resilient and greener energy landscape, Lin said.

The council said earlier that total electricity consumption is expected to grow by approximately 6.5 percent year-on-year in 2024.

According to the council, power investment continues to grow rapidly, with new wind and solar power installations reaching a combined 200 gigawatts, accounting for over 80 percent of total newly installed capacity.