Powering Yan'an's transformation through grid upgrades

Electricity consumption is a barometer of economic activity. Its growth also offers insight into a region's resilience and economic momentum.

In the first half of this year, the city of Yan'an in Shaanxi province consumed 9.10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up 6.4 percent year-on-year, the third-fastest growth rate in State Grid's Shaanxi service area.

Usage rose 7.9 percent in the primary sector, 5 percent in manufacturing and other secondary industries, 14.2 percent in services and 1.2 percent in households. Services led the increase, reflecting a shift toward greener, higher-value, technology-driven industries.

Supporting industrial development

On June 30, the 750 kV third northern Shaanxi–Guanzhong transmission project was put into operation. It is Shaanxi's largest grid construction project by investment, with the longest lines, greatest technical complexity and largest workforce. The project transformed the province's 750 kV backbone grid from a rectangular layout with one central connection into a more interconnected four-section network.

As a major infrastructure project designed to improve Shaanxi's north–south grid network and support the development of a new power system, the 750 kV transmission project was implemented with high technical standards, a well-designed grid structure and a comprehensive range of equipment. It serves as a vital link between northern Shaanxi's energy production centers and the Guanzhong region, where electricity demand is concentrated.

"The project has raised Shaanxi's north-to-south transmission capacity from 6.3 million to over 9 million kilowatts," said Wang Xiaodong, director of the development planning department at State Grid Yan'an Power Supply.

"It will help deliver Yan'an's renewable and thermal power elsewhere, make better use of local energy resources and ensure reliable electricity in Guanzhong," he added.

As the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–30) period begins, the company is helping develop thermal power plants and renewable energy bases in Yan'an, supporting the local energy industry and advancing the coordinated development of coal, oil, gas and renewable energy.

To serve major industrial projects, the company has put the 330 kV Huangling West Substation into operation, ensuring power supply for the huangling carbon-silicon new materials project. It also advanced the inclusion of the 330 kV Yangshu Substation in China's 15th Five-Year Plan to provide reliable electricity for a planned 10-million-metric-ton refining and petrochemical project and better bolster industries' upgrades

In the first half, Yan'an also increased investment in its distribution network, improving connections and tackling weaknesses in the grid. Twelve major projects, including the 110 kV Luozishan transmission and substation project, were launched or continued construction. Four projects, including the 35 kV Qinghuabian power transmission project, started operations. And four projects for peak summer demand, including the Ansai thermal power transmission project, were also put into use.

Green life

As living standards improve, smart appliances are making household chores easier. The growing popularity of electric vehicles is also driving demand for charging and battery-swapping services. Together, these trends are making greener, smarter electricity use a part of daily life. They also place greater demands on power supply reliability and customer service in both urban and rural areas.

Yan'an launched a total of 29 tasks across seven areas to improve services and strengthen the grid. Three 35 kV mobile substations entered service on schedule to address lengthy distribution lines and low voltage at network endpoints.

The city also launched a broader campaign to upgrade its distribution network. Workers completed improvements to 187 switches, 14 ring main units, 45 distribution transformers and low-voltage service lines in 83 transformer service areas.

Through live-line maintenance, they replaced over 2,000 aging porcelain insulators, 500 sets of surge arresters and worn line clamps. All remaining energy-inefficient distribution transformers are due for replacement by year-end.

During the summer of 2026, Yan'an recorded a 50 percent year-on-year reduction in both customer outage occurrences and power service issues.

Over the Spring Festival holiday in February 2026, the city met its "four-zero" power supply targets, including no burned-out distribution transformers or meter boxes and no customer complaints.

It has also upgraded external power lines to provide dual-circuit connections at five elderly care facilities, including the Central Nursing Home of Baota district and the Social Welfare Service Center of Zhidan county.

A highlight is that the city's electric vehicle charging and battery swapping industries have achieved leapfrog growth in the first half of 2026.

 During the six months, monthly electricity use in the sector topped 16 million kWh for the first time, up more than 100 times compared to the same period of 2020.

Electricity demand also rose steadily across key sectors, including oil and gas extraction as well as gas utilities, demonstrating the city's efforts to push forward industries' green transition.

Rural vitalization

Alongside efforts to improve urban and rural infrastructure and essential services, Yan'an is also upgrading power networks in towns and villages, bringing clean energy into rural landscapes, improving living standards and supporting tourism.

By making better use of rural renewable energy resources, these efforts aim to create new income opportunities for villagers and support the city's broader economic and social development.

Rows of solar panels have been installed in Nanbanhu village, Luochuan county. They are part of the province's "Solar PV+" initiative, a major rural vitalization project that turns unused rooftops and courtyards into income-generating solar assets.

"Village collectives lead the project, with broad participation from households," said Nan Zhengyang, a project manager from Tonghe Technology and Energy, a branch company of State Grid Yan'an Power Supply.

"We use vacant rooftops and courtyards for distributed solar generation, putting idle space to work and using clean power locally," Nan said, adding that the company would continue to expand distributed solar power generation and establish consistent standards across the sector to support local economic development and rural vitalization through clean energy.

State Grid Yan'an Power Supply has been upgrading rural power networks to handle the growing number of distributed solar installations. So far, it has added 80 distribution transformers with a combined capacity of 31,100 kilovolt-amperes and invested 22.49 million yuan ($3.37 million) in distribution network improvements.

 The upgrade project targeted weak points in the grid to ensure that more renewable power can be connected safely. They have also significantly improved the rural grid's capacity, power supply reliability and ability to accommodate locally generated clean electricity.

With stronger power grids in both urban and rural areas, Yan'an is generating more renewable electricity than ever, and renewables account for a growing share of its total power output.

In the first half of the year, renewable sources generated 4.79 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up 19.62 percent year-on-year and accounting for 26.79 percent of the city's total generation. Wind power accounted for 3.40 billion kWh, up 9.75 percent, with an installed capacity of 4.58 million kilowatts.

Solar power saw even faster growth, with generation rising 53.55 percent to 1.39 billion kWh and installed capacity reaching 2.64 million kW. The rapid expansion of solar power reflects the increasing role of renewables in Yan'an's energy mix.

"During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), we aim to raise power supply reliability across Yan'an to over 99.99 percent and cut average outage time per urban household to less than 26 minutes," said Wang.

"We plan to build a modern power grid with sufficient capacity, a strong, flexible network and reliable equipment to better support Yan'an's economic and social development," he added.