The scale of power grid investment continues to reach new highs.
According to the China Electric Power News, it learned from the State Grid on January 15 that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the fixed-asset investment of the State Grid Corporation is expected to reach 4 trillion CNY, an increase of 40% compared with the investment in the "14th Five-Year Plan", so as to drive the high-quality development of the industrial chain and supply chain of the new power system through expanding effective investment.
In terms of investment directions, first, the construction of new power systems, with an average annual increase of about 200 million kilowatts of installed capacity for wind and solar new energy, promoting the proportion of electricity in terminal energy consumption to reach 35%; second, accelerating the construction of UHV DC external transmission channels, with inter-regional and inter-provincial power transmission capacity increasing by more than 30% compared to the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan"; third, improving the electrification level of terminal energy consumption to meet the access demand of 35 million charging facilities.
State Grid Corporation stated that it will continue to play the role of a "stabilizer" and "ballast" in the national economy. Through continuous, stable and high-intensity investment, it will accelerate the construction of a new power grid platform with the main power grid and distribution network as the important foundation and smart microgrids as a beneficial supplement.
The scale of power grid investment continues to hit new highs.
In recent years, investment in power grids has been increasing. In 2022, the State Grid's investment in power grids was 509.4 billion CNY, exceeding 500 billion CNY for the first time. In 2023, the investment in power grids exceeded 520 billion CNY, and in 2024, it surpassed 600 billion CNY. It is estimated that the annual investment will exceed 650 billion CNY for the first time in 2025. Institutions predict that power grid investment may accelerate in 2026.
HSBC Qianhai Securities stated that, looking at historical data, power grid investment is usually relatively high in the first year of the "Five-Year Plan," and a similar trend is expected in 2026. In the last batch of backbone network equipment bidding by the State Grid in 2025, the total bidding amount increased by 88% year-on-year. This means that investment in UHV power grids is accelerating, mainly because backbone network equipment is usually used in conjunction with UHV networks. Compared with UHV DC projects, the progress of UHV AC projects may be faster than expected, mainly benefiting from more mature technologies and shorter coverage ranges.
It is worth noting that on December 31, 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued a guiding document on power grid construction - "Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Power Grids". It proposes that by 2030, a new type of power grid platform with the main power grid and distribution network as the important foundation and smart microgrids as a useful supplement will be initially built, and the capacity of the power grid to optimize resource allocation will be effectively enhanced. The scale of "west-to-east power transmission" will exceed 420 million kilowatts, the newly added inter-provincial power mutual assistance capacity will be about 40 million kilowatts, supporting the proportion of new energy power generation to reach about 30%, and the capacity to accommodate distributed new energy will reach 900 million kilowatts.
CITIC Securities stated that this document provides clear guidelines for areas such as the total amount of power grid investment, the coordination of main, distribution and micro grids, and the application of new technologies. Against the backdrop of continuous growth in electricity consumption, it is expected that the completed amount of power grid capital construction investment under the caliber of the National Energy Administration will reach approximately 3.8 trillion CNY from 2026 to 2030, corresponding to an average annual investment of about 750 billion CNY.
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