China's major regional power grids have been joined to increase the country's electricity transmission capabilities in a bid to tackle rising power consumption levels, particularly during this very hot summer season.

In Shenzhen, for example, rising power consumption levels have almost stretched the limits of city's grid, with power loading hitting a record high of 7.3 million kilowatts on Wednesday. 

Four power consumption records have been set since July and officials with the power supply bureau said that Shenzhen's grid load might be stretched to 7.9 million kilowatts.

The State Grid Corporation of China (SG), the nation's largest power grid builder, recently completed major power transmission projects linking the northwest and central China grids, a significant step in connecting the six provincial grids managed by SG and China Southern Grid (CSG).

The linkage between the five regional power grids in northeast, north, east, south and central China were completed earlier, but the northwestern grid previously operated alone, according to SG sources.

The newly completed projects include a converter station based in Henan Province linking the northwest and central China grids, as well as an upgrade to the existing Gezhouba-Nanqiao 500-kilovolt line that transmits electricity from Sichuan to Shanghai.

Both projects, put into operation in the first half of the year, have an electricity transmission capacity of 6.56 million kilowatts with a total length of 3,826 kilometers, said SG.

"It (the completion of the two transmission projects) plays an important role in adjusting power supplies between different regional power grids, which can transmit power from the areas that have relatively rich resources to those that suffer from acute shortages, optimizing the use of existing power transmission resources," said SG in a statement.

The completion of the projects is of important significance in relation to the country's long-term goal to use its own resources to build large-scale direct-current transmission lines, and will help satisfy the country's surging demand for power, SG sources said.

(China Daily, Shenzhen Daily July 14, 2005)