China Accelerates Power Grid Upgrade and New Energy System Construction in 2026

Xinhua News Agency reports that China is speeding up the construction of key energy infrastructure in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, with steady growth in national energy investment. Power grid development has become a core pillar for safeguarding economic operation, advancing energy transition and supporting high-quality social development across the country.

State Grid Corporation of China has prioritised moderate and proactive power grid development this year. It strengthens national backbone power networks, optimises grid structures and upgrades urban and rural distribution systems to deliver reliable power supply, facilitate clean energy transformation and meet rising social electricity demand.

Data released by the National Energy Administration on May 19 shows China’s total social electricity consumption reached 3.3345 trillion kilowatt-hours from January to April 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.4 percent. Driven by sustained economic expansion, rigid power demand growth will continue throughout the 15th Five-Year Plan period. State Grid is enhancing cross-regional power allocation capacity by reinforcing ultra-high voltage (UHV) backbone grids and optimising major grid frameworks in East, Central, North and Southwest China.

A series of landmark UHV projects are under accelerated construction nationwide. Key initiatives include the Panxi UHV AC project, Anhui-Hubei back-to-back DC project, Gansu-Zhejiang UHV DC transmission line and Datong-Huailai-Tianjin South UHV project. In East China, the 1000kV Zhejiang UHV AC ring grid project started construction on April 28. Upon completion, it will form a comprehensive provincial UHV loop structure, lifting northward power transmission capacity from Zhejiang to around 20 million kilowatts and strongly supporting offshore wind power, pumped storage and nuclear energy integration in East China’s load centres.

Multiple provincial grid upgrading projects have entered intensive construction phases in the second quarter. Major ongoing works cover the Shaanxi-Anhui ±800kV UHV DC project and Xinjiang