China keeping residents warm in winter with multiple measures

A worker debugs heating equipment at a house of a resident in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, Oct. 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

Against cold waves and global energy price fluctuations, China is ratcheting up its energy supply to ensure ample electricity, gas, and heating for its residents and factories.

In the first 11 months of 2022, China produced 4.09 billion tonnes of coal, a record high and 9.7 percent up year on year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

The high coal productivity continued into December, with an average daily output of over 12 million tonnes in the first half of this month.

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, the coal stocks at China's major power plants were enough to sustain power consumption for 24 days, NEA data showed.

During the January-November period, China's crude oil output reached 188 million tonnes, up by 3 percent year on year. Natural gas output stood at 197.4 billion cubic meters, rising 6.4 percent over one year ago.

By the end of October, China's total installed power generation capacity had reached 2.5 billion kW, up 8.3 percent year on year. Of this total, hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic, and other renewable energy generation capacity totaled 1.12 billion kW.

The domestic spot trading price of LNG is much lower than the international level. On Dec. 14, the trading price of LNG in the Shanghai Petroleum and Gas Exchange was about 5.6 yuan per cubic meter, while the spot price in Northeast Asia was equivalent to 10.1 yuan per cubic meter.

China's meteorological authority on Sunday renewed its blue alert for a cold wave.

From Sunday to Wednesday morning, parts of southern and central China will see cold days, with their lowest temperatures lower by 5 or 7 degrees Celsius compared to the same period of previous years, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The government will improve the comprehensive and complementary emergency energy deployment mechanism of coal, natural gas, and electricity, and enhance deployment arrangements to deal with energy consumption peaks, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement.

Efforts will be stepped up to organize the signing and implementation of medium and long-term contracts for coal and electric power, tap the potential of nuclear power, wind power and solar power generation, and make good use of cross-regional transmission channels, the NDRC said.