BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The State Grid Corporation of China on Sunday said that the supply and demand of power in areas operated by the company have returned to normal.

The thermal coal inventory in the company’s operating area has rebounded to 99.32 million tonnes, while the available days of consumption has risen to 20, said the company.

The scale of power curbs and the electricity gap have been significantly reduced, it said, adding that, as of Saturday, the power supply to some factories with high energy consumption and high pollution in certain provinces was still being limited.

The grid will face an "overall tight balance of power with gaps in partial areas" this winter and coming spring as the country faces a power-consumption peak and the drought season for hydropower.

The State Grid will increase and stabilize the power supply by tapping the potential of all kinds of resources, while closely tracking the thermal coal and gas supply, and coordinating power transmission across different regions to ensure the safety of the grid, said Meng Haijun, spokesperson with the State Grid.

The company will strive to ensure the power supply for households, public services and key customers, Meng said. 

The State Grid will also implement electricity price reform by incorporating all coal-fired power into the electricity market in an orderly manner and enlarging the floating band of the market-based electricity transaction prices, according to Meng.

The State Grid is the world’s largest utility and ranked second in the Fortune Global 500 in 2021. It supplies power to a population of over 1.1 billion, with its service area covering 88 percent of Chinese territory.