China to further propel power grid development
Updated 22:48, 10-Oct-2020
CGTN
An employee of a power supply company inspects an electric vehicle charger in a new-type car network interactive charging pile ecological site in Tianjin, China, June 15, 2020. /VCG

An employee of a power supply company inspects an electric vehicle charger in a new-type car network interactive charging pile ecological site in Tianjin, China, June 15, 2020. /VCG

China's State Grid vowed to further boost the construction of the country's power grids to empower the formation of a new development pattern.

Investments in power grids and related industries are expected to exceed six trillion yuan (about $885 billion) during the 14th Five-year Plan period (2021-2025), said Mao Weiming, board chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China.

The investments will focus on areas such as ultra-high-voltage power transmission, electric vehicle chargers and new digital infrastructure, Mao said.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that this year's electricity charges will be cut by 92.6 billion yuan, reducing the cost of social energy use and helping industrial and commercial enterprises tide over difficulties.

In addition, multiple measures will be taken for clean energy development to ensure the annual utilization rate of hydropower, wind power and solar power generation reaches more than 95 percent, Mao said.

He added that State Grid will follow the national electricity price reduction policy. It is estimated that the country's annual electricity bill will be reduced or exempted by about 92.6 billion yuan, said Mao.

Since May, China has strengthened its commitment to establishing a new development pattern known as "dual circulation," which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and foreign markets to boost each other.

(With input from Xinhua)