Electricity output in May from China’s thermal power plants — mainly comprising coal-fired units — rose 10.3% year on year and 3.6% from April to 392.2 TWh, data published Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Total electricity output in China stood at 544.3 TWh in May, up 9.8% year on year and 6.6% month on month, the NBS data showed. That equates to average daily power output of 17.6 TWh, up 10% year on year and an increase of 3.1% from April. Strong electricity demand due to hot weather drove greater coal-fired power generation even as hydropower output reversed its downward trend of the previous two months, rising 6.9% year on year and 31.6% on the month to 92.4 TWh in May. “[Hydropower] is not picking up fast enough to derail thermal power generation growth,” Citi analysts said in a note Thursday. Over January-May this year, China […]