State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has started operations for a major 2,080 km segment of the Baihetan-Jiangsu 800 kv ultra-high voltage (UHV) direct current transmission line, which is part of the country’s “west-to-east” power transmission programme.
The line, whose construction started in 2020, transmits electricity obtained from the Baihetan hydropower plant, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, to the eastern Jiangsu province. The 800 kv UHV line combines conventional and flexible direct current technologies and has a power transmission capacity of 8 GW.
China's west-to-east power transmission program seeks to balance the country's electricity supply and demand in different regions. It transmits the electricity surplus in western regions rich in power-generating resources to eastern regions which need much electricity to power economic activities.