# Industrial Structure Insights from Electricity Consumption Data: Emerging Industries Accelerating, Traditional Industries Stabilizing in the First Two Months

What economic new trends are revealed by the accelerated growth in AI electricity consumption?

Beijing News Shell Finance Report (Reporter Zhu Yueyi) On March 17, the National Energy Administration released data on electricity consumption across society for January and February.

Data shows that from January to February, total social electricity consumption reached 1,654.6 billion kWh, an increase of 6.1% year-on-year. Looking at electricity use by industry, the primary industry consumed 22.3 billion kWh, up 7.4% year-on-year. The secondary industry used 1,027.9 billion kWh, an increase of 6.3%, with industrial electricity consumption rising 6.4% and high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries increasing 10.6%. The tertiary industry consumed 323.1 billion kWh, up 8.3%, including charging and swapping services and internet data services, which grew by 55.1% and 46.2%, respectively. Urban and rural residents’ electricity use was 281.3 billion kWh, an increase of 2.7%.

Shell Finance reporter noted that industrial electricity consumption remains a key indicator. From January to February, industrial electricity use increased 6.4% year-on-year, with the growth rate improving by 3.2 percentage points compared to December last year. Manufacturing electricity consumption grew 6.6%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from December.

Jiang Debin, Deputy Director of the Statistics and Digital Intelligence Department of the China Electricity Council, told Shell Finance that the national electricity consumption growth rate from January to February was 4.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The cold snap in January and the low base last year were main factors boosting electricity consumption growth.

According to Jiang Debin, looking at manufacturing by major categories, the four high-energy-consuming industries saw a 3.9% increase in electricity use year-on-year, up 1.4 percentage points from December. All four industries showed positive growth, with increases higher than December. The building materials industry’s electricity growth rate turned positive for the first time since March last year, rising 1.0% year-on-year; the chemical industry remained stable, with a 3.2% increase.

Service industry electricity consumption remains strong. From January to February, high-tech and new business-related producer services maintained rapid growth, with information transmission/software and information technology services increasing 18.6% year-on-year, including internet data services up 46.2%. Charging and swapping services grew 55.1%, Jiang Debin said, consistent with the rapid development of digital economy and green energy sectors.

Jiang Debin stated that in early March, the impact of the US-Iran conflict on oil and related industries gradually became apparent. If the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, pushing up crude oil prices, downstream industries such as oil, coal, other fuels processing, chemicals, textiles, and new energy batteries may experience short-term declines in electricity use, which could slow the recovery and expansion of production.

Market analysts believe that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz has become a key variable affecting current oil prices. Guojin Securities research report pointed out that measures promoted by the US Trump administration are insufficient to ease supply tensions caused by blockages. Middle Eastern oil-producing countries have exhausted their storage capacity, forcing production cuts. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and Kuwait have collectively cut oil output by up to 6.7 million barrels per day, but the current supply loss due to the Strait blockage is about 15 million barrels per day, leading to actual supply shortages. The oil market’s panic continues to escalate, with geopolitical risk premiums possibly rising further. In the short term, oil prices will still be primarily influenced by the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Proofread by Wang Xin