China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration have recently issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a New-Type Power System, accordingly to which approximately 15 new UHV DC transmission channels will be commissioned, with the west-to-east power transmission capacity exceeding 420 GW. More than six regional grid interconnection projects will be completed, enhancing mutual support capacity of grids by around 40 GW. Additionally, the digital and intelligent upgrade of distribution networks will be advanced, the development of smart microgrids accelerated, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) network upgrades expedited. These initiatives are expected to drive fixed asset investment in the national power grid to over RMB 5.0 trillion ($0.74 trillion) during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, indicating an increase of more than 80 percent compared to the same period of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Zhang Lin, director of the Planning and Development Department of the China Electricity Council, stated, “Power grid projects involve large investments, long industrial chains, and strong spillover effects, which will help stabilize growth and are a critical pillar for high-quality economic and social development.”
