BEIJING — China's power generation decreased in the first quarter of this year, down 6.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed on April 17. 

Electricity output hit about 1.58 trillion kilowatt-hours during this period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

A breakdown of the data showed a decline of hydropower electricity generation, which fell 5.9 percent year-on-year.

Coal-fired electricity generation went down 7.5 percent, while solar power climbed 8.6 percent year-on-year.

The fall of the coal-fired electricity generation and hydropower electricity generation in the first quarter narrowed by 1.4 percentage points and 6 percentage points, respectively comparing with the decline in the first two months.

In the first quarter, nuclear and wind power generation saw an increase of 6.9 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.