Gansu UHVDC Links Bolster Summer Power Supply, with Daily Transmission Reaching 190 Million Kilowatt-hours and 73 Days at Full Capacity

The campaign to ensure power supply during the summer peak has recently concluded. According to State Grid Gansu Ultra-High Voltage Company, daily electricity transmission from Gansu to Shandong peaked at 190 million kilowatt-hours, with the transmission link operating at full capacity for a cumulative total of 73 days. Meanwhile, daily transmission from Gansu to Hunan exceeded 100 million kilowatt-hours on 68 days.

State Grid Gansu Ultra-High Voltage Company

The Gansu–Hunan Power Transmission Project is China’s first large-scale DC transmission project designed to transmit bundled wind, solar, and thermal power, while the Gansu–Shandong Power Transmission Project is the country’s first integrated energy transmission project combining wind, solar, thermal power, and energy storage. As key corridors of China’s West-to-East Power Transmission Program, the two ultra-high-voltage projects fully leverage the resource strengths of Gansu’s energy base.

As of September 14, Gansu’s two UHVDC transmission lines had delivered a total of 55.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, surpassing the 50-billion-kilowatt-hour milestone. This volume could meet the annual residential electricity needs of approximately 15 million households and provide strong support for ensuring power supply during the summer peak in Hunan and Shandong.

Operations and maintenance personnel inspect a UHV station

This year’s summer peak-demand period ran from June 15 to September 15. Amid persistent high temperatures across central and eastern China, electricity demand repeatedly reached record highs, and the two UHV projects operated at sustained high loads. State Grid Gansu Ultra-High Voltage Company strengthened the lean operation and maintenance of the EHV and UHV power grids, carried out specialized equipment inspections, and maintained round-the-clock staffing to ensure a reliable power supply.

By deploying digital tools such as intelligent monitoring and online sensing, the company enabled smart equipment operation and maintenance and accurate early warnings of potential faults. These technological measures helped ensure the security and stability of the power transmission corridors, safeguard the strategic UHVDC transmission corridors from Gansu to Shandong and Hunan, and further reinforce the infrastructure underpinning the Northwest China Power Grid as a “central hub.”

(Text and photos by Zhang Zimo)