5 Bln Yuan Invested in West-East Power Grids in H1

The Southern Power Grid Corporation invested more than 5 bln yuan in the construction of power grids connecting western China with the eastern coast during the first half of 2007, the official Economic Information Daily reported.

Southern Power Grid is responsible for electricity transmission in the southern provinces and regions of Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou.

The company has been entrusted by the central government to build the infrastructure behind the West-East Power Transmission Project, a national scheme aimed at utilizing the energy resources in western China for the benefit of energy-starved coastal regions.

Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi have been aggressively developing their hydropower resources in recent years, largely to meet surging power demand in Guangdong.

In the first half, the Southern Power Grid delivered 19.4 bln kilowatt-hours to Guangdong through the east-west project, up 42.25 pct year-on-year and exceeding the original planned volume by 60.8 pct, according to the report.

The company sold a total of 211 bln kilowatt-hours of electricity in the first half of the year, up 18.3 pct from a year earlier, and earned 115.3 bln yuan in revenues, up 16.8 pct.

It expects total annual electricity sales for full-year 2007 to reach 439.2 bln kWh, up 10.6 pct compared to last year.