Abstract:
Energy transition needs to balance equity, which is a core demand of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. From the dual perspectives of population and regional area, this study calculates the Gini coefficient of electricity consumption to quantitatively assess the spatiotemporal evolution of electricity consumption inequality, and employs a Bayesian linear regression model to identify its key driving factors. The findings indicate that significant disparities exist in the level of electricity consumption inequality between China and the global average, with China's rapid power development playing a crucial role in mitigating global electricity consumption inequality. The gravity center of electricity consumption has shown a trend of "shifting south – advancing west – stabilization" in turn, with the westward movement driving a decline in the Gini coefficient of electricity consumption. GDP and urbanization rate are positively correlated with the equalization of electricity consumption distribution, and the expansion of transmission lines of high-voltage and above has played a role in cross-regional resource allocation. Based on the analysis of key driving factors, a multidimensional development path for promoting the balanced development of electricity consumption is proposed, which takes economic activation, gap reduction, technological empowerment, and institutional reform as the key measures.