Skip to main content

China's power generation fell in 2015, for the first time since 1968

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, power generation in China slightly declined in 2015 (-0.2%) to 5,618 TWh, posting the first decrease since 1968. Total thermal power generation fell by 2.8%, with thermal plants utilisation rates standing at a record low during the year, while hydropower generation increased by 4.2%. Installed power capacity increased by more than 10% to more than 1,500 GW: thermal power capacity rose by 7.8%, while hydropower capacity rose by 4.9% and nuclear capacity by 30% to more than 26 GW.

This slight decline in power generation is linked to a lower steel production (-2.3% to 804 Mt, first fall since 1981), due to a weak demand and a large supply glut, reducing electricity and coal consumption. A slowdown in construction also affected the energy-intensive cement industry, reducing production by 4.9% in 2015, and reducing demand for coal and power as well. The higher hydropower generation and strengthened environmental constraints reduced coal consumption, whose production contracted by 3.5% in 2015 (second annual fall in a raw).

Electricity consumption increased slightly in 2015 (+0.5%), as industrial consumption dipped by 1.4% (-1.9% for heavy industry but +1.3% for light industry), highlighting the growing gap between industrial growth in China and energy consumption. Electricity demand from the services sector rose by 7.5%, while that from households progressed by 5% (+2.5% in agriculture).