On December 27, the State Grid Corporation of China announced the successful completion and commissioning of the Sichuan-Chongqing 1000 kV Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) Alternating Current (AC) Project.
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On December 27, the State Grid Corporation of China announced the successful completion and commissioning of the Sichuan-Chongqing 1000 kV Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) Alternating Current (AC) Project. As the first UHV AC project in China's southwest region, it marks a major milestone in the country's power infrastructure. This project, a priority under the national "14th Five-Year Plan" for electricity development, involved a total investment of 28.631 billion yuan. Spanning eight cities and regions, including Ganzi Prefecture in Sichuan, it features 1,316 kilometers of newly constructed 1000 kV transmission lines, making it the first high-altitude UHV AC project in the country.
The project upgrades the voltage level of the southwest region's main power grid from 500 kV to 1000 kV. It is capable of transmitting up to 35 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually from western Sichuan to major load centers in Sichuan and Chongqing—enough to meet the annual electricity needs of nearly 10 million households.
Electricity demand in Sichuan and Chongqing is surging. By 2025, peak demand is expected to reach approximately 75 million kW in Sichuan and 31 million kW in Chongqing, representing growth rates of 48% and 38%, respectively, compared to 2020 levels. The Sichuan-Chongqing UHV project connects power generation hubs with load centers in both regions, fulfilling a vision of UHV interconnection that has been more than a decade in the making. The project will increase Sichuan’s hydropower transmission capacity by 4.8 million kW and boost the Sichuan-Chongqing transmission interface capacity by up to 4 million kW, significantly enhancing power supply reliability in Chongqing while supporting the optimization of the region's energy structure.
To date, the State Grid has completed 38 UHV projects, comprising 22 AC and 16 DC lines. These projects have significantly enhanced the grid’s capacity for long-distance, high-capacity power transmission, further expanding initiatives such as "West-to-East Power Transmission" and "North-to-South Power Supply."