Measures against new power outages

China has urged provinces to ensure power supplies to enterprises. During a State Council meeting, Premier Li Keqiang said power outages should never be tolerated. The southern provinces called on coal-fired power plants to continue stockpiling. The backdrop is a projected increase in power demand at the end of the month should regional lockdowns end. In addition, there could be a shortage of coal supplies if shipments from northern parts of the country are disrupted by heavy rains, Bloomberg reports. However, the predicted heavy rains could also take pressure off coal-fired power plants as more power could be produced through hydropower.