During the first three days of China's National Day holiday, the country's highway charging infrastructure faced record demand. According to the National Energy Administration, 62,700 high-speed chargers facilitated nearly 3 million charging sessions between October 1 and October 3.
Data shows that 2.9686 million sessions were completed, delivering 71.6193 million kWh of electricity. On average, this amounted to 989,500 daily connections and 23.8731 million kWh of energy consumption. The peak load occurred on the first day of the holiday period.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of charging operations rose by 48.41%, while the total volume of electricity supplied increased by 49.39%. Despite the existing network, many roadside stations experienced long queues, with some drivers waiting for hours.
The surge in demand highlights challenges in managing peak loads during mass travel events. While current charging infrastructure is sufficient for regular daily traffic, it struggles to accommodate the sudden spike in demand when large numbers of drivers travel long distances simultaneously.
