The analysis of the underlying reasons of the inconsistent relationship between economic growth and the consumption of electricity in China - A case study of Anhui province

Researches revealed that there has been existed a relatively stable and positive relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption. However, the inconsistency between them appeared in 2008. Therefore, it is urgent to analyze whether the GDP in China is cheated and to seek the underlying reasons contributed to the deviation. Anhui province is selected to act our study area. In order to explore the underlying reasons of the deviation between economic growth and electricity consumption, a multivariable regression models is established in this paper. Empirical results are as follows: (1) real GDP, industrial structure (IS), heating degrees days (HDD), cooling degree days (CDD), investment in fixed assets (IF) are all positive factors for the consumption of electricity; (2) IS is the major contributor to raising the consumption of electricity, followed by IF, CDD, HDD, and GDP; (3) energy intensity (EI) and financial development (FD) are negative factors, when the value of EI increase 1.0%, the consumption of electricity will decrease 7.4%; (4) if the electricity consumption caused by other factors except GDP is eliminated, the deviation would almost shrink; (5) the real growth rate of GDP of Anhui province is authentic.