The expansion of computing power drives the emergence of a new concept: "computing and electricity collaboration." The power industry is accelerating its deployment.

“Computing power expansion gives rise to the new proposition of ‘coordinating computing and electricity.’” Yang Kun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council (referred to as “CEC”), stated that the high energy consumption characteristics of computing power pose higher demands on the power system, necessitating the promotion of integrated models such as green computing power parks and source-network-load-storage integration, to advance the coordinated development of “electrical-driven computing and computing-promoted electricity,” thereby solidifying the energy foundation of the digital age.

Yang Kun made these remarks at the 2026 Economic Situation and Power Development Analysis and Forecast Conference held on March 26.

“The endpoint of computing power is electricity, and the endpoint of electricity is energy strategy.” According to the International Energy Agency, global data center electricity consumption has an annual growth rate of 12%, more than four times the global average electricity growth rate.

By 2025, China is expected to have over 12 million standard racks, making it the second-largest computing power scale in the world. According to CEC data, the electricity consumption of China’s information transmission and other service industries is expected to grow by 17% year-on-year in 2025. Among these, the internet and related service industries are expected to grow by 30.7%, demonstrating a strong growth trend.

In Yang Kun’s view, currently, the basic trend of China’s economy is recovering favorably and remains positive in the long term. The promotion of Chinese-style modernization is advancing comprehensively, and new industrialization and the digital economy are thriving. New loads such as data centers and intelligent computing centers are growing rapidly, and sectors such as industry, construction, and transportation are achieving carbon reduction goals through electrification, which raises higher demands for the safety, reliability, greenness, and intelligence of power supply.

CEC forecasts that in 2026, China’s electricity consumption demand will maintain a steady and relatively fast growth trend, with nationwide total electricity consumption reaching 10.9 trillion to 11 trillion kilowatt-hours, a year-on-year increase of 5% to 6%.

In terms of power supply, the newly added power generation capacity in 2026 is expected to exceed 400 million kilowatts, of which the newly added renewable energy generation capacity is expected to exceed 300 million kilowatts. By the end of 2026, the national power generation capacity is expected to reach around 4.3 billion kilowatts, with non-fossil energy generation capacity at 2.7 billion kilowatts, accounting for about 63% of the total installed capacity, continuing to optimize the energy structure.

It is noteworthy that since the 14th Five-Year Plan, the national maximum electricity load has cumulatively increased by about 350 million kilowatts, and this growth trend will be further strengthened during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. CEC predicts that the highest synchronized electricity load nationwide will reach between 1.57 billion and 1.63 billion kilowatts in 2026, setting a new historical high.

“New loads such as data centers, intelligent computing centers, and fast charging for electric vehicles are rapidly increasing their share, which will change the traditional electricity consumption curve and further widen the peak-to-valley difference of system equivalent load,” Yang Kun stated.

The 15th Five-Year Plan outline proposes to promote the coordinated layout of green electricity and computing power. This year’s government work report also includes “coordinating computing and electricity” in the new infrastructure projects for the first time.

Yang Kun suggested that the electricity industry should deepen the full-chain empowerment of “artificial intelligence +.” It should promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence into core electricity business, carry out integrated pilot projects and standard construction, and drive the transition of the power system towards digital intelligence. He urged forward-looking planning for new models of coordinated development of computing and electricity, leveraging the advantages of wind and solar resources in the west to build “source-network-load-storage integration” green computing power parks, exploring direct supply mechanisms between computing power centers and renewable energy power stations to reduce energy costs. He emphasized strengthening the connection between computing power loads and grid planning, enhancing source-load interaction and risk prevention, and solidifying the energy foundation for the intelligent economy.