BEIJING (Xinhua) -- China has taken steps to ensure sufficient power supply to meet the surging electricity demand during the summer season, an official said Tuesday.

Jin Xiandong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference that since the beginning of this summer, energy demand has been increasing continuously, driven by continuous rising temperatures and accelerating economic recovery.

From Aug. 1 to Aug. 14, the average daily coal consumption of the supervised power plants was 8.16 million tons, up 15 percent over the previous year. Daily coal consumption reached an all-time high of 8.49 million tons on Aug. 3.

The committee stated that China has worked to raise coal production to meet the sharp increase in energy demand, as the average coal production has reached 12.4 million tons per day since last July, which is a relatively high level.

The committee pledged to expand coal production capacity using advanced technology, as well as encourage the implementation of medium and long-term contracts in an effort to secure adequate supplies of energy and electricity.