Power - China: Power Pulse #11: Spot power tariffs starting to moderate

Research evidence excerpt

Power - China: Power Pulse #11: Spot power tariffs starting to moderate

Accessible version

Power - China

Power Pulse #11: Spot power tariffs

starting to moderate

Industry Overview

Key charts on China power utilities 14 May 2026

Power Pulse provides our monthly key charts on China’s power & renewables. Spot Equity

power tariffs surged in April mainly in Southern China, but tariffs in May so far are China

moderating on recovering hydro. Hotter-than-usual summer will likely boost power Electric Utilities

demand, while impact on power tariff depends on renewables output. Wind tender Gary Tsang >>

volume weakened in Apr but onshore turbine price still on an uptrend. Our checks Research Analyst

suggest solar and wind installations fell -82% YoY and rose +17% in regions under State Merrill+852 3508Lynch6825(Hong Kong)

Grid. Solar remains under pressure with weaker irradiation for operators and gross gary.tsang@bofa.com

margins for integrated solar manufacturers. Charlotte Xia >>

Research Analyst

Merrill Lynch (Hong Kong)

+852 3508 5029Tariff: Spot tariffs in Guangdong/Yunnan moderating

charlotte.xia@bofa.com

Spot power tariffs surged in Guangdong and Yunnan in Apr to ~40% above benchmark,

Cissy Guan >>

mainly on weather and gas prices (Guangdong), but 27 out of the 31 regions we track Research Analyst

still have spot tariffs below benchmark. Spot tariffs start moderating in both provinces Merrill Lynch (Hong Kong)

cissy.guan@bofa.com

on recovering hydro, with Guangdong +15% YoY at RMB37c in May so far, vs +48% YoY

in April. User-side power tariff fell -13% YoY or RMB5c in May, broadly in line with the

decline in Apr. CMA expects temperature to be 1-2C above average during Jun-Aug,

which could support power demand and mitigate the tariff decline.

CEC: China Electricity Council