China's electricity market hits over 626 billion kWh in May

China's electricity market witnessed substantial growth in transaction volumes in May and the first five months of 2026, official data showed on Monday, highlighting the country's accelerating market-oriented power reforms and sustained economic vitality.

In May alone, the total volume of electricity traded in the national power market reached 626.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), representing a significant year-on-year increase of 23.6 percent, according to the National Energy Administration.

A breakdown by trading scope reveals that intra-provincial transactions dominated the market, accounting for 490.6 billion kWh, a surge of 26.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, inter-provincial and cross-regional transactions stood at 136.2 billion kWh, up 12.9 percent year-on-year, facilitating the optimized allocation of energy resources across regions.

By transaction type, medium- and long-term electricity transactions in May reached 561.7 billion kWh, playing a foundational role in stabilizing market expectations, while spot market transactions amounted to 65.1 billion kWh.

Green power transactions continued to gain traction as the country advances its dual carbon goals, said the NEA. In May, green electricity traded reached 31.1 billion kWh, up 6.1 percent year-on-year. Additionally, market-oriented proxy power purchases by grid enterprises totaled 66.6 billion kWh for the month, it added.

The robust momentum was consistent throughout the earlier parts of the year. From January to May, the cumulative volume of electricity traded in the national market hit 3.06 trillion kWh, surging 24.8 percent year-on-year.

During this five-month period, intra-provincial transactions accumulated to 2.44 trillion kWh (up 28.5 percent), and cross-regional trades reached 621.2 billion kWh (up 12.2 percent).

Medium- and long-term transactions for the January-May period totaled 2.68 trillion kWh, while spot market transactions stood at 377.9 billion kWh. Reflecting the steady green transition of China's energy sector, cumulative green power transactions reached 136.4 billion kWh, a 3.9 percent increase year-on-year, it said.

Zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn