Tons of thermal coal are unloaded and transported at a port in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on December 21, 2022. Photo: VCG

China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) recently issued a notice asking all state-owned companies to ramp up measures to further secure energy supplies, as the country is dealing with a cold wave and potentially higher prices in the international market that are putting pressure on the supply side.

Several parts of the country have seen record low temperatures, with certain places in northern China reaching -50 C, putting pressure on domestic energy supplies. Despite the tough situation, the nation has managed to stabilize energy production and supply, with more efforts being put in place, experts said, refuting some foreign media allegations that power curbs are being implemented in some parts of the country.

In a notice issued by SASAC, electricity suppliers are urged to better respond to market demand and rule out any possibility of power curbs, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. Companies must further add to coal inventories while continuously upgrading their production capacity, the notice said.

Price stability remains the key focus in the supply side, with companies asked to actively implement medium- and long-term price mechanism and unleash advanced production capacity at the earliest opportunity, according to the notice.

The notice is part of a series of efforts made by the government to beef up energy security, which is always a major focus for its direct connection to the public's livelihood and business operations. Major breakthroughs have been made in energy supply for the winter.

For example, as of mid-January, PetroChina had supplied more than 57 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the market in this round of winter supply, accounting for more than 60 percent of the country's gas supply, with the highest daily gas supply reaching 836 million cubic meters, a record high.

The ramped-up efforts in imports, self-production and facility upgrades are some of the key factors that have contributed to the growth.

Thanks to the government's measures, China's production and supplies for coal, natural gas and electricity supply all witnessed a positive growth in 2022, despite the tightened energy situation in many parts of the world.

However, choosing to ignore the achievements that China has made in securing energy supplies, some foreign media recently made allegations regarding power curbs in some parts of northern China this winter due to so-called "gas supply shortages and purchase limits," with Hebei Province in Northern China being a main example. Such claims were immediately denied by several industry insiders reached by the Global Times on Friday.

Hebei Natural Gas Company, a major player in the regional energy supplies, told the Global Times on Friday that there have been no power curbs or purchase limits on gas, nor would there be in the future.

Xinao Gas Baoding Branch Co, which covers up to 80 percent of the gas supply in Baoding, Hebei and some surrounding regions, said that there were neither power curbs nor purchase limits, while there has been some tightened power supply, which only occurred temporarily in certain places in mid-December.

"Because of the tightened supply in the upper stream market, there was not enough gas to keep the indoor temperature at the required level at certain compounds on some days in mid-December last year," an employee surnamed Liu of Xinao Gas Baoding Co told the Global Times on Friday.

The company was in active coordination with the suppliers and the situation was immediately resolved.

"At present, except certain scheduled mending for facilities that required temporary gas supply suspension, which normally lasted just a few hours, there has been no problem from the supply side," she said.

While gas prices in Europe are several times higher than the average of the past decade, as media reported, posing challenges to global price stability, the price in China remains largely stable.

In Baoding, for example, the price is at around 2.7 yuan ($0.4) per cubic meter for about a year, thanks to the government's subsidies and other measures that stabilized price and supply, according to Liu.

The domestic energy industry structure, with state-owned companies being the main drive, also enables the country to respond efficiently to market needs.

With regard to China's energy supply, the centrally-administered state-owned enterprises are responsible for up to 90 percent of the oil and gas supply, more than 60 percent of electricity supply, and over 25 percent of coal supply, according to media reports.

"China has done adequate work in securing energy supply for the winter, so even though there might be some tightening, it will only be temporary and partial," Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Friday.

Moreover, although gas supply has been used for winter heating as the country makes its transition toward clean energy, it still plays a limited and balanced role together with coal, especially in northern China, Lin said. The latter has also had adequate inventories and supply amid the country's efforts to expand import and production.