Aerial photo shows technicians of State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company checking power transmission lines to make sure the stable operation of local power supply in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

In September, China's electricity consumption reached 694.7 billion kilowatt-hours, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, with a two-year average growth of 7.4 percent, despite the power cut across some provinces in the country,  according to data released by National Energy Administration (NEA) on Wednesday.

The NEA said that in September, urban and rural residents used 110.7 billion kilowatt hours, up 3.7 percent year-on-year.

However, the unexpected power outages in three provinces in Northeast China - Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning - following sudden electricity shortages have resulted in major disruptions to the daily lives of people and business operations there, sparking growing concerns over the potential disruption of power supplies as demand rises pending the winter season.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, on Tuesday announced plans to improve the country's coal-fired power pricing mechanism with measures including expanding the fluctuation range for electricity prices.

The commission also asked all industrial and commercial users to buy electricity from the market, while liberalizing pricing for thermal power, which would help balance the use of power in the country.

In response to the power cut in some provinces, the State Grid Corp, a major operator of electricity networks in China, on September 25 pledged to ensure basic electricity demand for people's daily consumption.

The State Grid said that it is strengthening the unified dispatch of the entire power network, including exploiting the power transmission potential of inter-regional and inter-provincial channels.

Since September, many coal-producing provinces including Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia have expanded their production capacity in order to meet amounting market demand.

Global Times