At the same time, the supply of hydropower and wind power decreases in winter, and cannot fill the gap left by the reduction in thermal power.

The August output represented a 0.7 percent increase compared with the same period in 2019, the NBS said.

Work teams have been dispatched to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, eastern Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Hunan, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.

China will take key measures to ensure stable energy supplies this winter and next spring, the country's top economic regulator said on Wednesday.

Iron ore price up despite Chinese power curbs

Iron ore price up despite Chinese power curbs

"As more measures are expected from the authorities to secure power coal supplies and frustrate the coal price surge, the situation will be reversed."

Factories usually attract many orders before the Christmas and New Year holidays, he said.