Does technological progress and industrial structure reduce electricity consumption? Evidence from spatial and heterogeneity analysis

Abstract The increase of electricity consumption not only leads to economic growth, but also pollutes environment due to the heavy dependence on fossil fuels. How to reduce the electricity consumption without affecting the economic development is a challenging and pivotal issue. Relevant empirical evidence is scarce, so this paper deepens the understanding of two paths to decrease electricity consumption: technological progress and upgrading of industrial structure based on spatial and heterogeneity analyses. By constructing two spatial panel models, results show that electricity consumption among provinces in China is positively spatial-related and has certain path-dependent characteristics. To promote the technological progress and optimize the industrial structure are two effective solutions to reduce electricity consumption, and the latter channel plays a more important role. Heterogeneity among different regions and grid service zones exists obviously.