Industrial informatization and electricity substitution: Towards a cleaner energy utilization structure

Advancing cleaner energy utilization at the production end is a key feature of the industrial transition toward green practices. Based on the perspective of information technology empowerment, this paper uses China enterprise tax survey data from 2008 to 2016 and combines the establishment of Pilot Zones for the Integration of Industrialization and Informatization to empirically assess the electricity substitution effect of industrial informatization through a difference-in-differences method. The results are as follows: (1) Industrial informatization significantly advances electricity substitution, contributing to the energy transition of industrial enterprises. (2) Under the background of alleviated capital pressures for enterprises in the pilot zones, informatization construction primarily drives electricity substitution through external technology introduction, while there is still insufficient motivation for independent R&D. (3) The electricity substitution effect of industrial informatization is more pronounced in regions with stricter environmental regulations and greater resource scarcity. (4) Firm-level heterogeneity analysis reveals that informatization construction significantly enhances the electrification levels of large firms, non-exporting firms, and heavy-pollution firms. (5) Informatization construction also strengthens the growth of clean energy power generation enterprises, contributing to cleaner electricity production. Specifically, hydropower generation enterprises have experienced notable revenue growth, while wind-solar power generation enterprises have seen scale expansion without a corresponding increase in revenue. These findings provide policy insights for encouraging industrial enterprises to leverage information technology to optimize energy utilization structure and achieve sustainable development.