Grids upgraded in Tianjin rural areas to improve people's lives

Tianjin’s rural areas have seen the installation of upgraded electricity grids and renewed power supply facilities with new energy sources, all completed ahead of schedule, according to a municipal conference on poverty alleviation on Monday.

Yao Jun, chief engineer of State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company, said: “With concentrated efforts and emphasis, we finished the upgrading of power grids in impoverished villages of Tianjin by the end of last year, a year earlier than scheduled.”

A powerful and stable power supply is an essential part of building better living standards for residents in rural villages, Yao said.

Since 2015, the electric company has allocated a total of 22.66 billion yuan ($3.24 billion) to upgrade and improve rural power grids in poverty-stricken villages and implement a coal-to-electricity project.

Through determined efforts to protect the atmosphere by cutting gas emissions, 51 new "coal-to-electricity" supporting infrastructure projects were built, and 955.46 kilometers of electric power lines were added last year. This effort has lead to 223,100 households in Tianjin saying goodbye to coal as their source of warmth in winter.

Next, the company will use "Internet Plus" platforms to promote technologies such as smart homes and energy-saving household appliances, and encourage the use of electricity in agricultural production and homestay tourism, injecting new momentum for green development into rural revitalization.