URUMQI, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,481 poverty-stricken villages in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have had their power grid upgraded since March 2018, according to the State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd.

Thanks to the efforts, 8.91 million residents from 2.64 million households in the villages in southwestern Xinjiang, including prefectures of Hotan, Kashgar, Aksu and Kizilsu Kirgiz now lead a happy life with stable power supply.

Power supply used to be unreliable as a result of poor infrastructure in the villages.

The company launched a power grid construction and upgrading project in poor areas in Xinjiang in March 2018, including the aforementioned villages, in a bid to bring about positive changes in those areas.

Over the past 21 months, the company has built up or renovated power infrastructure, including 27 110kv electrical substations, over 700 km of 110kv transmission lines, 25 35kv substations and 35kv transmission lines with a length of over 400 km, according to corporate sources.