China’s AI and EV boom drives record power demand, widening energy gap with US

China’s total electricity consumption hit a record high of 10.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, more than double that of the US, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Saturday.The 5 per cent jump from the previous year marked the first time in China’s history that annual electricity consumption had surpassed 10 trillion kWh – the highest in the world and more than the combined total of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing NEA data.The main drivers of the growth were the tertiary sector – covering services including artificial intelligence cloud services – and residential use.Tertiary sector consumption increased 8.2 per cent to 1.99 trillion kWh, primarily driven by increases of 48.8 per cent for electric vehicle charging and battery swapping and a 17 per cent jump for information technology services amid booming demand for data centres and AI services, according to the NEA.A charging cable is connected to an electric vehicle at a charging station in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 31, 2017. Photo: ReutersMeanwhile, electricity consumption in primary industries – which includes agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries – grew 9.9 per cent year on year to 149.4 billion kWh, while consumption in secondary industries – including manufacturing, construction and mining – increased 3.7 per cent to 6.64 trillion kWh.Residential consumption, the other major driver, reached 1.59 trillion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 per cent, as heatwaves last year led to record levels of electricity use in several regions including Henan, Shaanxi and Hubei.