BEIJING (Reuters) -Thermal power generation in China, fuelled mainly by coal, fell 2.3% in April and 4.1% from January to April, official data showed on Monday, in line with expectations that China’s fossil-fuelled power output could dip in 2025 for the first time in a decade.
China’s thermal power generation was 449.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month and 1.98 trillion kWh year-to-date, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
In addition to coal, natural gas-fired power plants also contribute a small portion of thermal power generation.
Total power generation rose 0.9% in April to 711.1 billion kWh, slower than 1.8% in March. Over the first four months, power generation edged up 0.1% to 2.98 trillion kWh, after unseasonably warm weather meant there was less demand for heating in the first two months of the year.
The NBS figures also understate total generation because they do not count some small-scale renewable generators, in line with survey requirements to include only industrial firms with at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) of annual revenue from their main operations.
Figures from the energy regulator illustrate the discrepancy; for example, the National Energy Administration reported that power consumption rose 4.8% in March while NBS figures showed 1.8% output growth.
Power output and consumption usually grow at a similar rate, analysts say, though there may be discrepancies due to transmission loss and other factors.
Industry body the China Electricity Council said in its most recent report last month that power consumption was expected to grow 6% year-on-year in 2025, nearing 2024’s 6.8% growth level, but added that its forecasts were currently “not considering the impact of the worsening global trade environment”.
Hydropower, China’s second-largest power source, meanwhile fell 6.5% to 78.6 billion kWh in April, the NBS data showed, as parts of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, where much of China’s hydropower capacity is located, have been facing drought conditions, according to state media. In the first four months of the year, hydropower output rose 2.2%.
(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Kate Mayberry)
