BEIJING: Seven coal industry groups made a joint announcement on Sunday promising to stabilize coal market and try to control turbulent coal prices to ensure production safety and steady power supply, as coal prices continue to surge caused by rising winter demand, industry association reported. The high demand for energy in China’s rapidly growing industrial sector, along with several cold snaps at the end of 2020, have led to higher coal prices in China and even power outages in some regions.
Due to the intense supply of coal for power generators in December, governments of some provinces in Central, South and East China, including Hunan, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, introduced power rationing for local factories to ensure residential supply. However, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that China’s power supply remained orderly.
The joint statement from the seven Chinese leading coal groups was in line with the NDRC’s order that they must play important roles in stabilizing the coal market to ensure the stable supply of coal and to meet the high demands during the New Year’s Day holiday and upcoming Spring Festival in February.
In the announcement, the groups vowed to take actions in five areas, including maintaining coal supply with the premise of ensuring safety. Coal production firms should arrange working shifts during the holidays and conduct more security checks, the announcement said.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
