In 2018, China and the USA led the global power generation market, and were worth $426.05 billion and $129.30 billion respectively. The USA’s share was nearly one-third of China’s power generation market, the largest market globally.

China’s largest market size can be attributed to the high household domestic consumption by the large population, coupled with electricity consumption by the large manufacturing and transportation services industries in the country. In addition, the presence of abundant sources of energy in the country also supports the power generation market. China is the largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world. In 2017, China’s total installed power generation capacity reached 1,777.03 gigawatts (GW). China has the third largest coal reserves in the world, accompanied with large hydroelectric resources, which are the major sources of power generation in the country.

The Chinese power generation market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5% to 2022. The growth of the market in the forecast period can be attributed to the estimated growth in end user markets such as transportation services, as well as economic growth and favorable government initiatives.

The large size of the US power generation market can be attributed to the high electricity consumption in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors in the country. In 2018, residential customers consumed about 49.8% of all electricity produced in the USA, and they mainly utilized electricity to power HVAC systems and appliances & electronics. Commercial customers consumed 47.1% of electricity in the USA, mainly for powering their HVAC and lighting systems. Fossil fuels still account for the majority of electricity production in the USA, accounting for about 69% of all electricity produced in the country. The USA’s power generation market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 0.5% to 2022.

In 2017, Deloitte, in collaboration with YouGov America, conducted a survey in the USA, among residential and medium small commercial utility customers, as well as a small number of utility providers. According to the survey, 73% of residential respondents were highly satisfied with their electricity providers. Satisfaction is driven primarily by the quality of service and low prices. It was found that 65% of respondents communicated to their electricity provider through phone calls, followed by company website (51%), and 13% of respondents never had any communication with their electricity provider. However, a majority of the respondents were not at all interested in communicating with their electricity provider via web chat (35%), mobile app (37%), and mobile chatbot (50%). It was found that older generations were more interested in communicating via a phone call than younger generations.

In comparison to residential respondents, 99% of commercial respondents were extremely satisfied with their electricity provider. Around 88% of respondents stated that energy self-reliance was important to their company. About 50% of respondents ranked preserving the environment as the prime factor for participating in EE (energy efficiency) programs, followed by managing or reducing costs (47%), and regulatory compliance (47%). Commercial respondents were highly interested in EE programs, including energy efficient lighting (35%), chiller (53%), and load management (47%).