Beijing Electric Power Corp (BEPC) will upgrade its infrastructure by investing 22.1 billion yuan (US$2.92 billion) by 2008 to meet the demand during the 2008 Olympic Games.

The measures include building 86 and expanding 22 transformer stations of 110 kilovolts (KV) and higher capacity, which will increase the power load capacity in the city by 40 percent, said Yang Chao, who is in charge of the company's Olympic project.

"We've shifted the focus for the Olympics from construction of Olympic projects to ensuring continuous power supply during the Games," he said.

Being in charge of the city's grid, the BEPC has made preparations for grid development. Under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), Beijing will get six 500-KV transformer stations, 30 220-KV stations and 122 110-KV stations. And 63.3 billion yuan (US$8.37 billion) will be spent on upgrading the grid, the company said.

The BEPC is a subsidiary of the State Grid Corp of China (SGCC), the country's largest power transmission company. The SGCC is the official energy utility service partner of the 2008 Olympics.

Under an agreement between the SGCC and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the former will ensure uninterrupted power supply for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As the greatest sports show and an all-round social and cultural event, the Olympic Games need uninterrupted power supply.

And as one of the largest and most experienced enterprises, the SGCC is best suited to do that.

Beijing's grid depends on nearby provinces for two-thirds of its input. This dependence shows no signs of falling because power consumption in the city has been increasing continuously over the past years.

(China Daily August 7, 2007)