China will adopt comprehensive measures to increase its supply of available power while curbing excessive demand for energy, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Wednesday.
To meet demand during the peak summer months, the ministry will continue to work with related departments and energy companies to ensure stable supplies of coal, electricity, oil and gas, the NDRC said in an online statement.
The ministry will urge mining regions and coal producers to increase production, the statement said.
The ministry will also adopt measures to boost coal imports and strengthen its supervision over the execution of electricity contracts, according to the statement.
To increase available supplies of power, the ministry will ask thermal power companies to purchase and store coal, improve equipment maintenance and reduce unplanned outages, the statement said.
Efforts will also be made to promote links between oil production and sales to ensure oil supplies for agriculture and other important sectors, crack down on oil hoarding and price manipulation and enhance emergency power management, the statement said.
Related departments should create orderly power management plans, strictly ban power rationing for residential areas and tighten their control of power supplies for energy-consuming companies, the statement said.
China has raised prices for electricity used for industrial, commercial and agricultural purposes across the country's 15 provinces and municipalities by 16.7 yuan (about 2.58 U.S. dollars) per 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh). Electricity prices for residential use remain unchanged, according to the ministry.
