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After a power crunch battered the world's second largest economy from September, China has achieved significant improvement in coal supply due to expanded output and stabilizing prices. As winter approaches, the country is boosting energy supplies in full swing to ensure winter heating needs.

China Energy said the coal industry must ensure homemade coal output to increase orderly in the fourth quarter. Qualified coal mines have been encouraged to arrange productions with a quarter of the annual output. 

The imported volume of coal should be increased in order to cover the energy shortage, the company noted. 

From October 1 to 22, coal production at China Energy grew nearly 2.52 million tons. The company also generated electricity of 60.25 billion kilowatt hour accumulatively, up 14 percent year-on-year. 

Huaneng Yimin Coal & Electricity Co, China's largest open pit mine, has spared no efforts to release its 8.9 million tons of coal production capacity and strive to supply additional 3 million tons of coal to the northeastern region, one of the coldest areas in China, in the fourth quarter compared with last year. 

As China's largest residential heating supplier, China Huaneng Group Co has provided 6.81 million GJ of heating from October 1 to 21, growing 7.2 percent compared with the same period last year. 

On Sunday, China's top economic planner declared initial success in its efforts to ensure the coal supply and stabilize prices, saying that daily coal output has reached a peak in recent years and prices have dropped sharply over the past week.

"The work of ensuring coal supply and price stabilization has achieved initial results, and the national coal supply and demand situation has improved significantly," the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement. 

Based on recent coal supply data, power plants in China are expected to stock more than 110 million tons of coal, enough to sustain national usage for 20 days in order to ensure power supply and a warm winter for the Chinese people, the NDRC said.

In addition to coal, natural gas supplies have also been boosted. 

The country's longest coal bed methane pipeline is expected to finish construction by the end of November, able to transport around 200 million cubic meters of natural gas to North China, the operator China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said. 

A subsidiary of CNOOC promised to produce 11-12 million cubic meters of natural gas per day for six months, sending the total supplies up 28 percent compared with last year to ensure forceful energy supplies to North region. 

Global Times