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To alleviate the shortage of thermal coal, recently, the **National Development and Reform Commission, together with departments responsible for railways, transportation, coal, electricity, and safety supervision, established a coordination mechanism to address promptly the major issues arising in coal and electricity production and supply. **The National Development and Reform Commission requires that areas facing power supply shortages should, in accordance with the principle of ensuring essential needs first, guide people to avoid using electricity during peak times and spread out usage across different periods. Efforts should be made to reduce the electricity demand of energy-intensive industries, while giving priority to meeting the electricity needs of entities that are crucial for public interests and safety, such as residential areas, hospitals, and schools ； All regions must resolutely correct the negative practice of shutting down all coal mines without exception, or shutting them down without taking measures to improve their safety conditions. For those coal mines that were shut down due to meeting safety requirements, production must be resumed to ensure a steady supply ； All types of coal production and operation enterprises are strictly prohibited from driving up prices or arbitrarily increasing them taking advantage of the tight supply of coal; otherwise, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Transport issued an urgent notice today to ensure the transportation of key goods such as coal and grain, ordering transportation authorities across the country to closely monitor transport developments. Coal that arrives at ports and needs to be transferred must be loaded onto ships and shipped out promptly. Port and shipping companies must first meet the needs of power plants; coal transport ships can dock first, have their operations prioritized, and enjoy priority in navigation rights. Fu Jinxiu, Deputy Director of the Transport and Safety Division in the Water Transport Department of the Ministry of Transport: We are taking active measures at present. COSCO Group has brought back 11 ships from overseas, which will be put into use in the market soon. In addition, COSCO Shipping Group has modified 4 oil tankers, and two of these ships are already involved in coal transportation. In addition, the railway authorities have established a daily traffic report system. During the Spring Festival travel season, 100 additional trains are operated daily on key lines such as the Daqin, Jingguang, and Jingjiu lines to transport thermal coal, resulting in an increase of 5,000 trainloads per day in shipments; a system is in place to ensure that thermal coal shipments are arranged whenever requested. Wang Yongping, spokesperson for the Ministry of Railways: We are actively in communication with the National Development and Reform Commission to implement a daily reporting system, giving priority to the transportation of thermal coal by allocating transport capacity based on actual demand. The Ministry of Railways also stated that, while ensuring adequate transport capacity, it strictly prohibits the illegal collection of various fees in addition to the coal transportation costs. ●Sudden drop in temperatures in the south leads to coal shortage for power plants. Recently, the southern regions of China have experienced unusually low temperatures in decades; many residents and businesses have been forced to use air conditioners and electric heaters for extended periods to stay warm. The high electricity demand has caused the coal reserves in many power plants to decline rapidly, with some even facing shortages of coal. In Ningbo, the reporter found that in many residents’ homes, not only were air conditioners turned on, but electric heaters as well. Ningbo resident: We never used heaters before, but this year it feels especially cold. High electricity consumption has pushed the power generation of local power plants to new highs in recent years. The installed capacity of the Beilun Power Plant in Ningbo is now approaching its limit of use. Full-capacity power generation has also led to a severe shortage of coal in the power plant’s inventory. Reporter Xu Yang: Based on the installed capacity of Beilun Power Plant, the coal storage capacity of this coal plant should be 200,000 tons. What does 200,000 tons mean? It means the entire coal storage area needs to be filled to capacity, with the coal piles reaching a height of over 4 meters. But what you see now is that the entire coal storage area is quite empty, and the height of the coal piles is less than 2 meters. Qian Zhongwen, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Beilun No.1 Power Generation Co., Ltd.: The coal stockpile in our power plant is at its lowest level since the plant was built; as of today, there is only 60,000 tons, which is enough to sustain operations for five days. In addition to Zhejiang, provinces such as Hunan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan have also begun to experience shortages in coal supply. In response to this situation, **the relevant authorities are actively deploying coal resources and increasing transportation capacity to alleviate the shortage of thermal coal supply. ●Multiple factors have led to a shortage of thermal coal supply. Currently, 13 provincial power grids across the country are experiencing power cuts to varying degrees, and various factors are responsible for this shortage of thermal coal. Reporter: Qinhuangdao Port is an important transportation hub for transporting coal from the north to the south of China. Every year, coal brought in from places such as Shanxi and Inner Mongolia is shipped continuously from here to the southern regions of the country. However, this year, due to a shortage of coal resources, there are now long queues of ships waiting to pick up coal. Employee at a power plant in Guangdong: I’ve been waiting for coal at the port for 5 days. The main reason for the lack of coal available for shipment is that the transportation time from coal mines to ports has been extended due to weather conditions. Person in charge of the loading and unloading area at Qinhuangdao Port: Working in winter presents some difficulties; there may be frozen coal inside the carriages, which affects the operation time. Coal cannot be delivered to the ports on time, which directly affects the transportation of power plants downstream. In addition, since the beginning of this year, Qinhuangdao Port has been plagued by heavy fog and strong winds, preventing coal carriers from docking. Rising transportation costs also make it difficult for many power plants to transport coal easily. But what’s more important is that power plants in the southern regions did not expect to face a winter as severe as one has not been seen in over a decade, resulting in significantly insufficient coal reserves. Fan Guangzhi, head of the Production Department at Qinhuangdao Port Group Co., Ltd.: The weather has had a huge impact; many power generation units are operating at high levels, and the power plants themselves did not expect things to be like this this year. ●**NDRC: Power supply should be prioritized to meet civilian needs