China's Xiong'an New Area steps up power grid construction

SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of power grid projects with a total investment of over 1 billion yuan (157 million U.S. dollars) in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province started construction Wednesday.

China announced plans to establish the Xiong'an New Area on April 1, 2017, to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as China's capital. To provide the new area with stable and secure electricity supplies, two major 500-kilovolt power transmission and transformation engineering projects are underway to form a looped network in the western and northern parts of the area.

The Xiongdong 500-kilovolt power transmission and transformation project started construction in September 2020 and will be completed and commissioned in September 2022. Xiong'an is expected to see the other project put into operation around June 2024, according to the State Grid Hebei Electric Power Co., Ltd.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of Xiong'an New Area. Its power grid construction will be accelerated as the company plans to invest more than 2 billion yuan to build the area's power grid into a digital active distribution network, said Wu Kun, director of project management office under the construction department of the State Grid Hebei Electric Power Co., Ltd.

The Chinese leadership has pledged to build Xiong'an into an innovative, green, smart, and world-class city with blue skies, fresh air, and clean water, and every inch of land in the area will be carefully planned.