Hydropower production in China saw contracted declines in November, mainly owing to increased rainfall in main producing provinces.

The nation's total power generation reached 749.5 TWh in the month, with hydropower contributing 82.3 TWh or 10.98% of the total. Hydropower generation fell 1.9% year on year, narrowing by 13 percentage points (pp) from October, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In November, China's power consumption increased 2.8%, slowing down by 1.5 pps from October.

According to China Meteorological Administration, the national average temperature in November was 5.1℃, 1.9℃ higher than the same period in previous years.

A total three rounds of cold air swept China in November, a decline of 1.3 rounds compared to previous years.

China consumed 784.9 TWh of electricity in November. The primary industries recorded a 7.6% year-on-year increase to consume 10.4 TWh of electricity. The secondary industrie utilized 539.9 TWh, marking a 2.2% rise on the year. The tertiary industries used 138.3 TWh, up 4.7% from the year prior.

Cumulatively, China's hydropower generation totaled 1,192.6 TWh, a YoY increase of 11.2%. The top five provinces in terms of hydropower output are Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Guangxi, and Guizhou, with output at 354.39 TWh, 290.62 TWh, 117.69 TWh, 50.3 TWh and 49.48 TWh, respectively, an increase of 6.3%, 6.5%, 1.4%, 48.9%, and 43.8% YoY.

Specifically, Sichuan still saw the highest hydropower output in November backed by concentrated hydroelectric installations, amounting to 23.29 TWh (-11.4% YoY), contributing to 28% of the nation's hydropower generation. Yunnan followed with an output of 21.1 TWh (+2.1% YoY), constituting 26% of the total.

Due to reduced water supply from the Three Gorges, third-ranked Hubei saw hydro generation, which heavily relies on Yangtze River inflows, tumble 35.2% from a year ago to 6.52 TWh.

16 provinces and regions witnessed YoY increases in hydropower generation in November, accounting for about 58% of the total.

Among provinces with yearly growths, the biggest increases were recorded in Beijing (+195.9% YoY), Guangxi (+95% YoY) and Hainan (+50.9% YoY). Provinces with significant YoY declines included Hubei (-35.2% YoY), Zhejiang (-23.8% YoY) and Jiangxi (-23.3% YoY).

On a monthly basis, 11 provinces and regions saw hydropower output higher or steady from a month ago, with Shaanxi and Beijing posting the largest increase of 31.1% and 22.2%, respectively.

At present, China's temperature in December is close to or slightly lower than the average level in past years. The temperature in most parts of the country from late December to January will approach or slightly higher than the same periods years ago.

Overall, in November, the national average precipitation increased, but the distribution was uneven. There are differences in the water supply of main hydroelectric generation provinces.