SGCC Invests Heavily in Power Grids during 11th Five-Year Plan

At the start of January,the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) announced that,by 2015,it would build more than 1 million kilometers of 110 KV + lines,complete more than 4 billion in KVA power transformation,and increase electricity sales by 42% on 2010 levels.

Following rapid development during the 11th Five-Year Plan,the scale of state power grid has doubled.SGCC has put 254,000 km of 110 KV + power transmission lines into production and has generated 1.27 billion KVA in power transformation capacity.The total length of power lines has increased by 60%,with the power transformation capacity increasing by 118%.Meanwhile,electricity sales have grown from 1.5 trillion KWH to 2.7 trillion KWH,up 83.6%, electricity transactions in the national power market went up from 77.5 billion KWH to 358.5 billion KWH,an increase of 3.6 times.Meanwhile,during the 11th Five-Year Plan,SGCC investment in the power grid totaled RMB 1.2 trillion,exceeding total investment in the power grid in the 56 years of the People’s Republic of China,as well as realizing an accumulative profit of RMB 133.6 billion and profits and taxes of nearly RMB 500 billion.

In 2010,SGCC invested RMB 264.4 billion in building 110 KV + AC lines (47,000 km) and DC lines (1,038 km),putting AC lines (51,000 km) and DC lines (6,040 km) of 110 KV + into operation and completing electricity sales of 2.7 trillion KWH,up 18% year-on-year.

SGCC has made new breakthroughs in the development of the power grid.The Xiangjiaba-Shanghai ±800 KV UHV DC pilot project has been put into operation,while key projects such as the Debao DC project,the Huliao DC project,the Ningdong DC Pole I system,the Xinjiang and Northwestern China networking project,as well as the Gansu 10-million KW wind power delivery (phase I) project have been completed and put into operation,further enhancing the capacity of the power grid for large-scale optimization and energy resources configuration .The SGCC has made great headway in the Qinghai-Tibet electric networking project ("Electric Sky Road"),completing all infrastructures.Following the procurement of a 25-year franchise by the Philippine state power grid,SGCC has acquired 7 Brazilian power transmission companies and the franchise of their power transmission assets.

SGCC has seen a marked improvement in its overall strength.During the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan,the group doubled its main business income from RMB 741.7 billion to RMB 1500 billion,realized total profits of RMB 123.5 billion,and profits and taxes of approximately RMB 500 billion.Analyzing these figures,total assets grew by 82%, returns on equity increased by 2.65%,while the company’s position among the world’s top 500 has leaped from no.46 in 2005 to no.8 in 2010.

SGCC indicated that during the 12th Five-Year Plan period,China’s installed capacity of electricity is expected to increase by approximately 500 million KW,with total electricity consumption expected to increase by 2 trillion KWH.Therefore,the group must accelerate to transform its developmental modes,concentrate on the local balance of power development,try to form a UHV backbone grid withcoordinated AC/DC lines and create a reasonable structure and layout,so as to adapt to the requirements presented by the construction of large-scale energy bases,as well as the huge demand for clean energy.

Over the next 5 years,SGCC plans to build approximately 60 AC/DC power transformation converter stations with a transformation (conversion) capacity of 420 million KVA (KW),as well as 40,000-km lines.By 2015,SGCC will form three vertical UHV AC power grids,three horizontal UHV AC power grids and a UHV AC power grid loop in each of northern,eastern and central China.Recently,a reliable source at SGCC revealed to reporters the introduction of the latest UHV AC project development,namely the completion of a preliminary design and equipment procurement for a UHV AC extension project pilot and a comprehensive unfolding of construction.SGCC has successfully developed the UHV series compensation,63kA UHV switches and UHV transformers with single-cylinder capacity of 500MVA to meet the relevant engineering requirements.The Huainan-Shanghai UHV project has completed preliminary design work,and is ready to commence; the Ximeng-Nanjing UHV project has had special research conducted and the relevant design aspects have been commenced.This implies the construction of two important lines is around the corner.In terms of investment in UHV AC lines,the Xiangjiaba-Shanghai ±800 kV UHV DC power transmission pilot project was completed on 8 July 2010.Next,SGCC looks set to focus on the Jinping-Sunan UHV DC project.According to a source,AC equipment and most other Jinping-Sunan UHV DC project materials have been procured,and the construction drawing design of current conversion stations and lines is on track.SGCC has drawn up a procurement plan DC equipment to improve its independence and is paying close attention to the success of the relevant procurement procedures.The civil construction of two-end converter stations is pressing ahead steadily,the construction of the AC system’s foundation is essentially complete,and construction has ended on the main structure of relevant buildings.Meanwhile,large towers for power transmission have been completed,97% of construction on the general line project’s foundations has been completed,and all towers with clad sections in eastern China have been completed.Also,SGCC has obtained land use approval for the two-end converter stations and they are currently going through the relevant procedures.All procedures related to the transfer,summary,acceptance and settlement of the project are being dealt with efficiently.