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Power Grid Upgrade Benefits 20 Million Farmers in East China
The upgrading of the rural power grid has greatly improved the electricity supply to 86,000 villages and 20 million farmers in east China's Shandong Province, official sources said.
As part of a national project, the upgrading of rural power grids to raise the load capacity in Shandong was started three years ago and completed in May, seven months ahead of schedule. Shandong hence became the first Chinese region to finish the job, at the cost of 12 billion yuan.
The project is expected to cost over 180 billion yuan nationwide, the biggest ever investment by China in rural power supply.
In addition, the government has also made painstaking efforts to cut down rural electricity prices, which used to be much higher than that in urban areas.
In Shandong, the price was trimmed down 0.1 yuan per watt hour, which is expected to save one billion yuan annually for its farmers.
Increased load capacity and cheaper prices have made it possible for the continued growth of China's rural industry, which has helped keep the Chinese economy on the fast track over the past two decades, experts said.
In the first half of the year, rural power consumption in Shandong rose eight percentage points over the same period of last year.
Sales of TVs, electric fans, washing machines and other electrical appliances in the province also reported big rises, according to officials.
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