BEIJING -- China's daily maximum power load declined 50 million kilowatts month-on-month to 548 million kilowatts in September, according to the country's top economic planner.

To ease supply pressure in September, 13 provincial power grids resorted to power rationing policies during peak times that limited the total kilowatt hours of power to 6.26 billion, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in a statement on its website.

Supply in the provinces of Shanxi and Hunan was relatively tight, with a power shortfall of 11 percent and 20 percent, respectively, while the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan experienced frequent power rationings during the period, the NDRC said.

Power shortages have been a persistent headache for China. Earlier this month, the China Electricity Council predicted that central China will face a 16-million-kilowatt power shortage during the coming winter.