The National Development and Reform Commission held a series of press conferences during the "15th Five-Year Plan" on the morning of the 6th to introduce the situation of building a secure foundation. Tang Wei, deputy director of the Economic Operation Regulation Bureau, said at the meeting that energy supply during the winter heating season can generally meet demand, and the people are guaranteed a warm winter.
Tang Ai introduced that keeping warm and ensuring supply during the peak winter is related to thousands of households. It is a major people's livelihood project and a popular project, and it is also a top priority of the National Development and Reform Commission. According to forecasts from the meteorological department, due to the impact of the super El Niño event, the temperature in my country is expected to be generally high this winter, but the frequency of cold waves will be slightly more, the fluctuations of cold and warm temperatures will be large, and extreme weather may occur frequently, which is expected to bring challenges to ensuring energy supply.
Tang Ai said that the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, together with the member units of the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for coal, electricity, oil and gas transportation, will fully implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, consolidate the responsibilities of all parties, and promote the implementation of various tasks to ensure warmth and supply. Generally speaking, the energy supply during this winter heating season can generally meet the demand, and the people are guaranteed to have a warm winter. The National Development and Reform Commission focuses on ensuring the following three aspects.
First, the energy supply foundation continues to be consolidated. Coal production was fully organized while ensuring safe production. In September, the national coal output was 385 million tons. In October, the output further increased month-on-month. The thermal coal inventory remained high. As of the end of October, the national unified power plants had more than 210 million tons of coal in stock, which was available for 36 days. We continue to promote the increase in natural gas production and supply. At present, natural gas resources have exceeded 200 billion cubic meters during the heating season, and underground gas storage has been fully stored, which can generally cover demand. The foundation for safe power supply has been continuously consolidated. As of the end of September, the country's installed power generation capacity exceeded 4.13 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 420 million kilowatts, strongly supporting the electricity demand for economic and social development.
Second, the ability to ensure peak supply has been significantly enhanced. In terms of natural gas, on the basis of giving full play to the role of peak-shaving resources such as gas storages and LNG storage tanks, the peak daily supply capacity of natural gas during this winter heating season exceeds 1.75 billion cubic meters, which is nearly 70 million cubic meters higher than the peak gas consumption in the previous heating season. In terms of electricity, it is expected that the country's highest electricity load during the heating season will reach about 1.52 billion kilowatts, an increase of about 90 million kilowatts from the peak of the previous heating season. The installed capacity of conventional power sources has increased by about 100 million kilowatts year-on-year. The overall increase in power supply capacity can ensure demand growth.
The third is to ensure solid and effective energy utilization for people’s livelihood. Adhering to the national "one game of chess", cross-regional energy mutual aid continues to appear. We will do a good job in signing and implementing medium- and long-term energy supply contracts to secure the bottom line of energy consumption for people's livelihood. Improve demand-side management measures and prioritize energy use for people’s livelihood. Be prepared to deal with extreme weather and emergencies, fully prepare emergency repair forces and emergency energy supply equipment, and make emergency repairs and restoration as soon as possible when necessary. Strengthen the responsibilities of local governments and enterprises to ensure supply, and strengthen the rapid handling of cases of warmth and supply.
Tang Ai said that in the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration will work with all relevant parties to unify thoughts and actions into the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, keep a close eye on key areas and key links, strengthen overall planning and operational adjustments, and do a thorough and detailed job in all aspects to ensure that the overall situation of national energy supply in winter is stable and that the broad masses of the people have a warm winter.
