China switches on first cross-border power grid from Russia

Jul 25, 2007 - China Business News

China has given the green light for the construction of its very first cross-border high-voltage power grid to transport electricity from Russia.

According to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, 5,000 kilometers of power grid with capacity of 500 kilovolts would be established by the State Grid Corp of China along the borders of both countries.

The Shanghai Securities News forecasted that the project is likely to boast a six-fold surge in power supply from Russia to China.

The fourth largest economy in the world with a robust growth of 11.5% in the first half, China's appetite for electricity is sizzling amidst surging power consumption to drive its industrial sectors. The State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) revealed that electricity consumption in the first quarter of 2007 witnessed a rise of 15% year on year, or 3 percentage points to 719 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

A memo was inked between the Unified Energy System of Russia (RAO) and the State Grid Corporation of China two years ago to pledge commitment towards more intimate power tie-ins between both parties.

The board of Unified Energy System (UES), Russia's power grid operator, is reportedly planning to boost electricity supplies to Northeastern China up to 3.6-4.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) starting from next year.

Russia's electricity export volume to China is also forecasted to soar to 18 billion kWh from 2011 and 38 billion kWh from 2015 on.

Source: China Business News