In a bid to avert experiencing the same fate of its fellow Asian neighbor, China's National Energy Administration (NEA) on Monday announced it has started a series of 13 research and development projects aimed to improve emergency response mechanisms in cases of "extreme disasters" related to nuclear power plants failure, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 along with its debilitating effects is already well recorded in the annals of Japan's history. Japan's most hard earned lessons during the earthquake's aftermath, which not only killed thousands of people but also brought about a number of nuclear disasters and level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Power Plant complex, that ultimately forced hundreds of thousands of residents to relocate, have now become beacons of standards for other nations, particularly China, as far as nuclear power safety handling is concerned.

The projects which involved the China National Nuclear Corp. and other state-run companies and research institutions should be completed and ready by 2013, the NEA added.

Specifically, the research work will focus on advanced nuclear power safety technology based on research and analysis of nuclear plants, improving emergency response systems and reducing risks of accidents.

The subsequent research results will be used to lower the core damage frequencies (CDFs) and large early release frequencies (LERFs) of reactors, Xinhua reported.

CDFs and LERFs are identified as risk assessment indicators that will help predict the potential occurrence of an incident that could ruin a nuclear reactor core. NEA said construction of third-generation nuclear power plants required lower indicators.

China, the world's biggest energy user, is on a continuous manhunt, scouting for approaches and methods, to address its electric power shortages. Its economic growth over the past decade led it to become the world's largest electricity consumer. However, China's zooming growth has put increasing stress on the nation's electrical generation grid. Since April of last year, Chinese power plants have been battling electric power shortages due to increasing demand, higher coal prices and a drought in southern China diminishing hydroelectric electrical output.

In the last quarter of 2011, China acquired the go-signal to resume the construction of its nuclear power plants that were discontinued prompted by Japan's Fukushima crisis in March. The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China also came up with a set of draft safety rules to ensure not only the efficiency but also safety of the country's nuclear plants once it goes online again.

The revised safety guidelines and other regulations are due for government approval by March. China's first pressurized water reactors, using technology developed by U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Co., are expected to start operating by next year.

The March 2011 nuclear power plant disaster on Japan's northeastern coast was the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.