Elon Musk posted that China's per capita electricity consumption is 30% higher than Europe, and the comment section was flooded with positive feedback from Western netizens!
Elon Musk shared a post about global power consumption data and added a caption "People don't realize it." The post pointed out that China's current annual per capita electricity consumption has exceeded the European average by about 30%.
According to the latest statistics released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2024, China's per capita annual electricity consumption in 2023 was approximately 5,800 kilowatt-hours (kWh), while the average for the 27 EU countries was 4,460 kWh. This means that China's per capita electricity consumption is indeed about 30% higher than the EU. Notably, this gap has rapidly widened over the past decade—China's per capita electricity consumption was only about 60% of the EU's in 2013, and now not only has it caught up but also surpassed it.
What is more interesting is the comment section under Musk's post. A large number of users from Western countries did not question the data, but instead expressed surprise or even self-mockery. A German netizen wrote: "I can't even turn on the air conditioner in summer in Berlin, because the electricity bill is too expensive." Another French user said: "We are still arguing whether to build new nuclear power plants, while China has already built the world's largest ultra-high voltage transmission network."
For example, in 2022, the electricity price for German households soared to 0.45 euros per kilowatt-hour (approximately 3.5 yuan RMB), nearly six times that of first-tier Chinese cities (about 0.6 yuan per kilowatt-hour).
At the same time, some European countries have sparked controversy over their policy priorities. For example, Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants in 2023 without simultaneously expanding other stable power sources; France, although restarting its nuclear power plan, has seen new projects repeatedly delayed; and the UK has poured a large amount of financial resources into so-called "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) projects rather than grid upgrades. These choices appear increasingly inappropriate against the backdrop of an energy crisis.
In contrast, China continues to promote green transformation while ensuring energy security. In 2023, China added 21.6 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity, equivalent to the total power generation capacity of the entire Germany; the total power generation reached 9.4 trillion kilowatt-hours, accounting for nearly 30% of the global total. More importantly, China has effectively balanced the load differences between the east and west through unified scheduling and cross-regional power transmission, ensuring stable power supply in most regions even during extreme heat waves.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849002749860872/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.