Northwestern China’s Shaanxi province has ordered coal miners to keep the contract price of power coal in 2011 at the same level as in 2010, according to a notice issued by provincial Bureau of Commodity Prices recently, in a bid to secure the supply of power coal and normal operation of power plants, Xi’An Evenings reported.

The provincial bureau calls for all the key state-owned and local coal mines not to raise the contract price of coal supplied to power plants in the province. Coal producers are asked to improve the fulfillment of contracts, and power generators to increase operation efficiency, it noted.

As the current coal market is in a state of short supply, coal miners and power generators aren’t allowed to suspend coal supply and power generation, even if they didn’t reach consensus on price, according to the notice.

And, those raising prices, lowering coal quality or selling contract coal as spot coal would be punished severely, the bureau said.