(Yicai Global) Dec. 18 -- China's energy regulator and macroeconomic management agency have sought to ensure residents about the country's sufficient electricity supply by resorting to coal for heating amid an exceptionally trying winter.

The National Energy Administration will sustain a stable supply of coal this winter and next spring, strengthen maintenance to avoid power cuts and optimize resource allocation between provinces, the regulator said in a statement yesterday.

China's electricity supply has remained stable and orderly, and the residential consumption has not been affected, the National Development and Reform Commission announced the same day.

After logging a historic high in electricity usage on Dec. 14, south-central China's Hunan province suggested that firms should shift production to off-peak times while residents should avoid using energy-greedy electrical appliances during peak periods till Spring Festival in February 2021.

The 2060 carbon neutrality goal of the world's largest consumer of coal seems far. China's demand for coal is significantly increasing this winter due to the fossil fuel's use in generating electricity, as well as making steel and building materials, NDRC's spokesperson Meng Wei said on Dec. 16.

Coal prices have been rising due to the surging demand but that should not worry consumers in the short-term. Currently, more than four-fifths of the coal used is purchased under medium and long-term contracts so the price hikes should not majorly affect consumers, said Meng. Later, the NDRC will guide pricing to a more reasonable level, Meng added.

Winter arrived a month early. In Hunan province's Changsha, electricity shortages have been aggravated by the city's insufficient coal supply, low water levels, slow wind power generation amid freezing temperatures, and decreased input from other regions, a provincial notice read, citing Wu Donglin, spokesperson for Changsha Power Supply.

The biting chill has hit southeastern China too. From Dec. 15, the Jiangxi Development and Reform Commission restricted the province's daily electricity supply during morning and evening peak hours.

The energy-saving trend has also reached eastern China. Many factories in Zhejiang province have received notices to stop production till Dec. 31 while government agencies have been instructed to turn off their air conditioning when the temperature outside is above 3 degrees Celsius.

Editor: Emmi Laine