China's energy supply generally stable this year: official

BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The energy supply in China has been generally stable and in good order this year despite rising external pressure, an official with the country's top economic planner said Tuesday.

"We are confident and can guarantee a stable and orderly energy supply for the upcoming summer power peak," said Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission.

By the end of April, China's total installed power generation capacity reached about 2.41 billion kilowatts, which is expected to further increase to 2.45 billion kilowatts before the summer, he told a press briefing.

The government has moved to boost the production of coal, the country's main energy source. China's coal output increased 10.5 percent year on year to about 1.45 billion tonnes in the first four months of this year, according to Zhao.

Regarding oil and gas, he said that, due to government efforts in response to rising international oil prices, inventories in China's major oil and gas enterprises have remained at a high level.

The government has also prepared for this year's winter heating season in advance by facilitating gas supply deals between upstream gas enterprises and their downstream clients, covering a greater amount of gas than the supply volume last year, said Zhao.

To ensure energy security, China has made plans to add an extra 300 million tonnes of coal production capacity this year, while coal imports have been exempted from tax between May 1 this year and March 31, 2023, according to previous government announcements.