China National Coal Group Corp., the nation's second largest coal producer, said on Wednesday that it produced 3.33 million tons between February 1 and February 12, up 722,000 tons year on year, or 27.67 percent, in effort to ease the nation's energy shortage.

The group provided 1.12 million tons of coal to the nation's five major power groups -- China Huneng Group, China Guodian Corp., China Datang Corp., China Huadian Corp. and China Power Investment Corp. -- 42.91 percent more than scheduled, according to a statement on the China National Coal Group's website.

China Huadian Corp. also announced on Wednesday that its coal reserve stood at 5.3 million tons on Tuesday, 910,000 tons more than the all-time low of 4.39 million tons on January 28. The company said the reserve could support its operation for 17 days.

Winter storms have plagued southern China since mid-January, leading to widespread traffic jams, blackouts and crop loss in 19 provinces. It had also killed at least 107 people and affected about 150 million residents, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Official statistics revealed that weeks of snow had damaged 27,805 power lines and 1,497 transformer substations nationwide. By February 12, 69.3 percent of the damaged power lines and 87.5 percent of the substations resumed operation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)