With most of China being in home isolation throughout the first two months of 2020, power demand fell lower than during the financial crash of 2008.

The research by IHS Markit noted the first two months of the year saw a 7.8% decline as a result of industrial and commercial stagnation, with a 12% drop in industrial demand.

The commercial and service sector registered a 3.1% dip in demand, contrasting with the telecom and web service sector, which saw power demand increase by 27% following an increase in technology usage.

As the nation resumes work and several sectors and businesses reopen, the power demand is expected to normalise for the rest of the year.

Despite this, demand is expected to grow by only 2.8% – the research warns China could be impacted by an approaching global recession and is expected to register a 3.9% GDP growth rate.

It also highlights lower demand could create a more competitive supply, which is likely to be partly filled by a growing share of renewables in China, which make up a total of 20% of current installed capacity.