Nighttime electricity data reflects the achievements of Guangzhou's "night economy" promotion

During the National Day holiday in 2019, the nighttime electricity consumption of Guangzhou Tower exceeded 560,000 kWh, an increase of nearly 20% compared with 2018. The so-called "nighttime" refers to the period from 18:00 to 6:00 the next morning. Various economic activities that stimulate domestic demand during this period are called "night economy."

In August 2019, the term "night economy" became popular in China. Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and other places have successively launched a number of policies to promote night consumption and boost domestic demand growth. On August 19, the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting Night Economy Development in Guangzhou" to create an internationally renowned "Guangzhou Night" brand. Economic development starts with electricity. The premise of people's night travel, entertainment and consumption activities must be electricity demand. It can be said that night electricity data is another way to reflect the city's achievements in promoting the development of the "night economy".

Load peaks are getting later

Guangzhou remains a first-tier city that never sleeps

Guangzhou’s “night economy” started early. From the 1980s to the 1990s, with the economic take-off following the reform and opening up, late-night snacks, KTVs, night markets and food stalls together formed the initial foundation of Guangzhou’s night economy. Guangzhou is a nationally famous “city that never sleeps”.

Today, Guangzhou still maintains this nighttime economic vitality and has a great momentum of in-depth development. A staff member of the Guangzhou Power Grid Control Center told the author. "Generally speaking, the peak of the nighttime power load of the Guangzhou power grid usually occurs at around 19:10 in the evening." But the time of this peak has quietly changed in recent years. According to statistics, in 2017, the peak of nighttime power load occurred between 18:00 and 19:00 in the evening for 135 days, between 19:00 and 20:00 for 156 days, and after 20:00 for 74 days. In 2018, the number of days after 20:00 rose to 106 days. As of October 2019, the peak load had occurred after 20:00 for 121 days. "The data shows that the time of the peak of nighttime power load is moving backwards. One of the influencing factors is that Guangzhou has more and more nighttime production and consumption activities, and the time is getting later and later." said a staff member of the Guangzhou Power Grid Control Center.

Guangzhou, a thousand-year-old commercial capital, has commercial districts as the main carrier of nighttime economic activities. The four major commercial districts in the central urban area of ​​Guangzhou have an annual electricity consumption of more than 600 million kWh, which is equivalent to a 100-watt lamp being lit for 700,000 years. Take the Tianhe Commercial District as an example. It is home to large commercial complexes such as Tianhe City, Zhengjia Plaza, Victoria Plaza, Guangzhou Department Store, Malling Place, and Taikoo Hui. It is an important business card of Guangzhou's commercial districts. As of October 2019, the nighttime electricity consumption of the above six commercial complexes has reached 281.97 million kWh, which has exceeded their nighttime electricity consumption for the whole year of 2017.

The average load of Baoye Road and Yuanjing Road in the food streets in the early morning is 590,000 kilowatts, which is high, and the streets are as bright as day and brightly lit. In the ranking of electricity consumption in business districts, the brand-rich Zhujiang New Town and Tianhe business districts ranked first and second with an average annual household electricity consumption of 120,600 and 34,500 kWh. In the Shahe business district, where small businesses gather, the average household electricity consumption is only 10,500 kWh, but the total amount ranks first among business districts, and has always been an important driving force for Guangzhou's economic development. The data operation and maintenance personnel of the Measurement Center of the Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau gave the author an example that the Guangzhou Trade and Exhibition Center, known as the "barometer of foreign trade and economic cooperation", consumed 54.65 million kWh of electricity at night in 2018, and in October 2019, it exceeded 70 million kWh.

Nighttime electricity consumption increases rapidly

The prosperity of culture and tourism has created a new atmosphere of prosperity

Lin Yingjie is very concerned about the electricity consumption data of Guangzhou Tower, especially during this year's National Day. "My Motherland and I" Guangzhou's cultural evening to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China was held at Guangzhou Tower. "During the entire National Day, especially at night, the area around Guangzhou Tower was packed with people, and people squeezed for dozens of kilometers!" Lin Yingjie exclaimed. As a landmark scenic spot in Guangzhou and the tallest tower in China, "Visiting Guangzhou, you must visit Guangzhou Tower" has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

The Guangzhou Tower is a place where tourists gather, mainly at night. In 2018, the Guangzhou Tower received a total of 2.3 million tourists, an increase of 70,000 year-on-year, with an operating income of 630 million yuan. The landmark building is colorful and crowded with tourists. The sightseeing elevator, the Ferris wheel on the top of the tower, the Sky Speed ​​​​and other amusement projects are all inseparable from electric energy. 1 kWh of electricity supports nearly 30 yuan of revenue for the Guangzhou Tower. This year's National Day Gala, the power supply department was on duty on site, the power room was inspected, and the emergency power generation vehicle drove in... Behind the wonderful performances of the gala, it was the strict defense of the power supply personnel, providing sufficient and reliable power for the colorful lights. In terms of nighttime electricity consumption, the nighttime electricity consumption of the Guangzhou Tower in 2018 increased by 6% year-on-year.

Canton Tower is just the first stop on Guangzhou's cultural tourism journey. "The economic development center of southern China" and "Guangzhou is the best for food", these names always give Guangzhou a very "materialistic" feeling. But in the end, Guangzhou citizens have never slowed down their pursuit of spiritual and cultural life. Data shows that Guangzhou's book purchases ranked among the top three in the country in 2017. The "Southern Book Festival" has been held for 26 years since 1993, and the atmosphere of reading for all Guangzhou people has never weakened. "Reading by lamplight at night, the oil is dry but the desire is not over." Modern people do not use oil to read by lamplight, but electricity. As of September 2019, the nighttime electricity consumption of Guangzhou Library has exceeded the number of nights for the whole year of 2018.

In addition to reading, the appreciation of performing arts and knowledge learning are also not lagging behind. As a business card of Guangzhou's urban performing arts, the Guangzhou Grand Theater increased by 37% year-on-year in September. The Guangdong Provincial Museum, a national first-class museum and another cultural landmark in Guangzhou, saw its electricity consumption increase by 16% in August 2019 compared with July. The reason is not difficult to find. Since August 1 this year, the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Television has held the "Museum Wonderful Night-Guangzhou Museum Night Opening" event, organizing nearly a dozen museums in the city to extend their opening hours to 9 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Although it is night, the exhibition does not stop, and the power supply must keep up. On the other hand, the pulse of electricity can make the wonderful journey of the museum exude infinite charm.

We need development and green

Electric mobility accelerates nighttime economy

To develop the night economy, travel is the key. Whether the subway, bus, and other basic means of transportation for daily travel are convenient directly affects the quality of the development of the night economy.

Guangzhou is one of the few cities in China that still has subway stations in operation after 11 p.m. To meet the nighttime travel needs of citizens, Guangzhou Metro has extended its line network by 1 to 1.5 hours during statutory holidays and major events such as the Spring Festival (Flower Market, New Year's Eve), May Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, and New Year's Day since 2017. At the same time, as the city develops, the subway network is continuously expanded to continuously improve the level of transportation services.

Electricity data is the most telling. As the largest electricity user in Guangzhou, Guangzhou Metro's electricity consumption has increased by 20% in the past three years, exceeding 1.5 billion kWh in 2018. Strong and reliable electricity safely transports more than 8 million passengers every day. One kWh of electricity can meet the needs of two people on the subway, providing great convenience for people who work overtime or travel at night.

Another basic means of transportation, buses, also play a huge role. Moreover, last year, Guangzhou public transportation took on a special task: in order to "win the battle to protect the blue sky", Guangzhou public transportation must achieve electrification. The operation of electric buses has a significant feature, that is, charging is concentrated in the middle of the night. In 2018, the monthly bus charging volume in Guangzhou was about 10 to 15 million kWh, but by 2019, this number soared to 45 to 50 million kWh.

Electricity data confirms the development of the electric era. According to the Guangzhou Transportation Department, in 2018, Guangzhou has promoted the use of more than 10,000 pure electric buses, fully entering the green and low-carbon "electrification era".