Shandong Imports 12.2 Trillion kWh of Electricity Over Two Decades
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Shandong’s “Imported Electricity to Shandong” initiative. According to State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company, the province has imported 12.2 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity from other regions over the past two decades, providing a vital boost to economic and social development.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Shandong’s “Imported Electricity to Shandong” initiative. According to State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company, the province has imported 12.2 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity from other regions over the past two decades, providing a vital boost to economic and social development.
“Before 2005, Shandong’s power grid was not connected to other provinces, making it one of the few independent provincial grids in China,” said Zhou Chunsheng, Director of the Comprehensive Technology Division at the company's Dispatch and Control Center. However, as electricity demand surged amid rapid economic growth, the province faced increasing challenges, including limited local energy resources, high coal transportation pressure, and environmental constraints. To address these issues and reduce its reliance on coal, Shandong turned to external power sources. In March 2005, the 500-kV Xinliao Double Line was completed, linking Shandong to the North China grid and officially integrating it into the national power network.
Since then, the "Imported Electricity to Shandong" program has expanded significantly, evolving from a nonexistent system to a large-scale energy network, and from a coal-dominated supply to a diversified energy mix. In 2024 alone, Shandong imported more than 150 billion kWh of electricity, accounting for 18.6% of the province’s total electricity consumption.
Beyond meeting energy demand, the initiative has also helped reduce Shandong’s environmental footprint. In 2024, 23% of the imported electricity came from renewable sources, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 27.3 million tons—the equivalent of saving 9.8 million tons of standard coal. With large-scale renewable energy bases in China's northwestern desert regions coming online, the share of green electricity is set to rise further, accelerating the transition from “imported electricity” to “imported green electricity.”
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