China has completely stopped importing electricity from Russia since the beginning of 2026 and is not purchasing even the minimum volume stipulated in the contract — about 12 MW, sources familiar with the situation told “Kommersant”. According to them, electricity exports to the country are unlikely to resume this year, as the export price of supplies from January exceeded domestic electricity prices in China. This made further purchases unprofitable for Beijing.
“Inter RAO” exported surplus electricity from the Far East to China. The supply contract was signed with the Chinese State Grid Corporation in 2012. It is valid until 2037. It was assumed that about 100 billion kW/h, or about 4 billion kW/h per year, would be supplied to China over the entire period. The electricity price formula stipulated in the contract is unknown. It may be tied to a single-tariff price (power plus electricity) prevailing in the Far East, and should also take into account the tariff of the main networks for electricity transport to the Amur-Heihe cross-border power line and Inter RAO’s margin. Then, Chinese importers sell electricity to their consumers at a retail price (The Moscow Times).
