Shandong Province responded on Saturday by requiring all its major coal producers, about 100 in total, to continue production during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday that begins on Wednesday.

Major coal producer Shanxi, which shipped 87 percent of its 2007 output (550 million tons) outside the province, requested all state-owned collieries to keep up production during the festival.

In response, Datong-based Tongmei Company Group decided to shorten its Spring Festival holiday to a single day, while Shanxi Coking Coal Group lowered its coal consumption for metallurgy and supplied 60 percent of its coal output to power plants.

The centrally-administered Shenhua Group, the country's largest coal distributor boasting a 1,369-kilometer rail line with a transport capacity of 128 million tons, decided to operate its 54 collieries at full steam during the festival. It awarded workers extra bonus and tripled their overtime payment as required by law.

A Shenhua executive said the company's February output would be 20.2 million tons, up 12 percent from January's 18 million tons.

SAWS figure showed the January coal output hit 185 million tons, up 3.1 percent year on year.

General manager Li Xiaopeng of Huaneng Group, the country's largest power generator, said the constraints of power coal supply were easing gradually, but several of its power plants had coal reserves unable to last one more week.

Ma Kai, National Development and Reform Commission minister, recognized power coal supply as "an issue of national significance". He urged relevant departments to seize on the subdued passenger traffic during the Spring Festival to replenish the coal reserves of power plants to rational levels.