From: Xinhua News, May 24th, Beijing

Electricity data is a “barometer” and “wind vane” that reflects economic operation. Since the beginning of this year, with consumption gradually recovering and enterprises operating at full capacity, the growth rate of electricity consumption in many parts of the country has rebounded, releasing positive signals of economic recovery.

Stable growth of industrial electricity consumption

In the operating area of the State Grid of China, the industrial electricity consumption in the first four months was 1431.1 billion kilowatt hours, of which the electricity consumption in the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 7.4% year-on-year, and the electricity consumption in the consumer goods manufacturing industry increased by 2.5% year-on-year. Data shows that the electricity consumption of China’s high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries has significantly increased, indicating that the driving force of economic growth is shifting. In the five provinces and regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, and Guizhou operated by Southern Power Grid, the electricity consumption of the manufacturing industry increased by 2.2% year-on-year. Among them, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry and the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry increased by 16% and 12.2% respectively year-on-year, indicating that the speed of industrial structure transformation and upgrading is accelerating.

Electric energy becomes greener

Another positive change is that the quality of electricity has become greener, and the generation of clean energy is gradually increasing: from the rotating wind turbine blades on the coast of the East China Sea, to the rows of photovoltaic panels connected in the northwest desert, and to the world’s largest clean energy corridor.

Since the beginning of this year, investment in the power sector has been continuously increasing. In the first quarter, major power generation enterprises in China completed an investment of 126.4 billion yuan in power engineering, a year-on-year increase of 55.2%. Among them, solar power generation increased by 177.6% year-on-year, and nuclear power increased by 53.5% year-on-year.

In the hydroelectric province of Sichuan, as the largest power generation enterprise in the province, the Yalongjiang Company of the State Investment Group has jurisdiction over China’s largest power station in the 20th century, including the Ertan Hydropower Station, the world’s tallest dam, the Jinping Level 1 Hydropower Station, and the country’s tallest earth-rock dam, the Lianghekou Hydropower Station. The installed capacity of clean energy is nearly 20 million kilowatts.