Aluminum smelters in Yunnan Province were mainly operating stably

According to SMM research, aluminum smelters in Yunnan Province were mainly operating stably in January 2024. The operating capacity of aluminum in the province was about 4.49 million mt, flat MoM. Some enterprises reported that the contribution rate of hydropower is still at a low level during the dry season. There is no expectation for big growth in the short term for industrial electricity consumption. Enterprises have no plans to resume production in the short term, and the follow-up still needs to wait for clearer policy guidance from power department. According to data from the Yunnan Provincial Energy Bureau, the power generation of industrial enterprises above designated size in Yunnan Province in 2023 was 390.506 billion kWh, up 3.5% YoY. Among them, thermal power generation was 64.029 billion kWh, up 38.6%, wind power generation was 27.724 billion kWh, up 28.7%, solar power generation was 8.988 billion kWh, up 131.8%, and hydropower generation was 289.765 billion kWh, down 5.2%. The rapid growth of thermal power and new energy power generation has effectively filled the gap of declining hydropower generation, with the proportion of clean electricity reaching 83.6%.