To prevent an energy bottleneck from happening again, China wants to use more coal again this year.

Coal-fired power plants should also be supported to work at full capacity, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said in a speech on the economic situation on Tuesday.

The electricity demand for production and residential consumption must be covered.

Reports of power shortages in parts of the country repeatedly surfaced last summer and autumn.

Several factors were cited as the cause.

In order to achieve its climate goals, Beijing had actually ordered emissions to be strictly reduced.

Local governments had therefore begun to ration electricity.

High prices for coal and an unusually large energy requirement in industry, which had to process orders from all over the world due to catch-up effects after the Corona crisis, had a negative impact on the supply situation.

The government then promised to secure the supply of coal.