State Grid Corporate of China (SGCC) will begin constructing three new ultra-high voltage (UHV) power lines in 2009. UHV has a voltage of 1,000 kv or above alternating current (AC), and 800 kv direct current. UHV can deliver large quantities of power over long distances with power losses less than traditional lines. The new AC power lines will connect Huainan of Anhui province and Xilingol of Inner Mongolia with Shanghai, and the northern part of Shaanxi province with Changsha in Hunan.

This plan of constructing three new UHV power lines came after the company put its operation of first UHV power line in previous week. The building of two other direct current UHV lines is still in progress. With this, the total number of UHV lines in China reaches to six.

In the past, similar UHV power lines were developed in Russia and Japan, but the technology was not widely utilized in those countries because of high cost and relatively weak demand.

The company has begun building high-tech power line at the end of 2006 amid disputes over sophistication of technologies and vast investment needed.

The 640-km alternating current line that linked the southeastern part of Shanxi province, a coal-rich region, with Jingmen city of Hubei province in central China, started commercial run on January 16, 2009 with a total investment of CNY5.9 billion.

Lu Jian, a spokesman of SGCC, said that there was an immediate necessity for UHV technologies to deliver power in the country, where energy resources are unevenly distributed. About 80% of the country’s coal reserves were found in northern and western regions and 80% of hydropower in western regions, while over 75% of energy demand is concentrated in the central and eastern regions.

The company did not unveil the investment on these three lines, but has mentioned that it will invest CNY83 billion in UHV power lines in 2009 and 2010.

The two other UHV lines with a combined investment of CNY40 billion are already in progress. The two direct current lines will transmit hydropower in Sichuan province to Shanghai and southern regions of Jiangsu province.

The company is likely to invest over CNY100 billion over the next three to four years on such UHV lines to make long-distance transmission more efficient.

China’s electricity demand may almost double to 7.4 trillion kilowatt-hours by 2020. The installed generating capacity may also increase by a similar rate to 1.47 billion kilowatt.

The company predicts the UHV capacity to reach 300 million kilowatt by 2020, with 78 million kilowatt committed to hydropower transmission.