This summer, a heatwave swept across most of the globe. In China, 58 national meteorological stations recorded maximum temperatures exceeding 40°C for multiple consecutive days, and power grids in 23 provinces set new historical peak load records a total of 59 times. A series of reports is now underway, sending reporters to the frontlines of energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, and urban services to observe how various regions are proactively tackling the heat and ensuring public welfare, analyzing the new changes happening in China's economy as it faces the peak summer season.
The latest data from the National Energy Administration shows that as of August 6, the maximum electricity load this summer has exceeded the 2025 record for a cumulative 11 days, with the peak load reaching 1.553 billion kilowatts, an increase of approximately 45 million kilowatts compared to last year's historical extreme. This week, the load has already exceeded 1.5 billion kilowatts for four consecutive days. Facing this new situation, regions across the country are employing new technologies and methods to ensure stable power production and supply during the summer peak, firmly safeguarding the bottom line of residential electricity use.
The "Stove City" Finds Its Cool
Chongqing, traditionally known as a "stove city," already has a high summer electricity demand. This year, it faced continuous heatwaves, causing its grid load to break records three times. Reporters observed that despite the surging demand, power dispatchers, who once felt under immense pressure, appeared notably more composed this year. Where does this newfound calm come from?
According to meteorological records, temperatures in Chongqing have exceeded 35°C for 25 consecutive days this summer. The widespread use of air conditioners has directly driven up grid load. The city's peak power load reached 31.4 million kilowatts, an increase of 1.12 million kilowatts from last year's peak. However, staff at the dispatch center seemed less anxious. A deputy chief engineer at the State Grid Chongqing Electric Power Company explained that the supply situation is much better this year, thanks to the "Xinjiang Power to Chongqing" project, which has effectively added capacity equivalent to two of the city's largest coal-fired power plants. Additionally, flexible power sources like energy storage and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are available to generate power during peak demand.
This year, the electricity delivered from Xinjiang to Chongqing has increased from 4 million kilowatts to 6 million kilowatts, significantly easing the city's power supply worries. Half of this long-distance electricity comes from wind and solar green energy. Upon arrival in Chongqing, a portion is stored in 12 new energy storage stations, which act like giant "power banks"—charging when demand is low and rapidly discharging during peak hours. Upon receiving a dispatch command, one such station's power output surged from 0 to 180 megawatts in a very short time, quickly compensating for the electricity needed to run over 50,000 household air conditioners simultaneously. A deputy station manager noted that previously, storage stations mainly charged during off-peak hours and discharged during the evening peak. Now, unless under maintenance, they participate in grid frequency regulation services all day, responding quickly when solar or wind power output drops.
Chongqing's power foundation for coping with extreme heat is becoming more robust. Instead of relying primarily on local hydropower and coal power, it is now supported by imported electricity, energy storage, new energy, and gas-fired power. The deputy chief engineer added that the share of gas, wind, and solar power capacity has grown significantly compared to 2022, with solar's share rising from 2.46% to 15.19%. This thicker and more flexible power security network, combined with the hard work of power supply personnel, has brought "air conditioning freedom" to Chongqing. A local resident remarked that in the past, there was always a fear of blackouts during peak usage, but that hasn't seemed to happen for the last two years. With more appliances like robot vacuums, ovens, and washer-dryers, life has become more comfortable.
An "Invisible" Power Plant Relieves Peak Demand
An "invisible" power plant is also playing an indispensable role in this year's summer peak power supply. This is the virtual power plant, which aggregates dispersed charging stations and power resources, using a smart platform to dispatch them to where they are needed most during peak hours. This year, the southern heat arrived early, so the peak demand period also came sooner. In Shenzhen, reporters learned that the peak load arrived over a month earlier than usual. The general manager of the Shenzhen Virtual Power Plant Management Center attributed this to a combination of persistent high temperatures, the booming digital economy, and strong demand for electric vehicle charging, which has created a new pattern of "three peaks in parallel"—morning, noon, and evening—along with a concentrated charging load at midnight.
This year, artificial intelligence has been deeply integrated with the virtual power plant. On a large screen at the management center, a power consumption curve showed a steady decline in load, a result of a "cloud relay" involving 61 operators and over 14,000 users. In a short period, these parties aggregated a maximum adjustable capacity of 1.4 million kilowatts, equivalent to the output of a medium-sized coal-fired power plant, thus relieving pressure on the grid. The general manager explained that a new AI model has been introduced that can actively identify risks of equipment overload based on real-time grid conditions, providing strategies on where and how much to adjust. The entire process is very intelligent and efficient.
Shenzhen is not alone. This year, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang are also using virtual power plants for peak load regulation. Shanghai has aggregated 71 operators with an adjustable capacity exceeding 2.7 million kilowatts, and Zhejiang has achieved bidirectional peak-shaving and valley-filling, with a cumulative response of over 100 million kilowatt-hours. Currently, there are over 470 virtual power plants nationwide, with a maximum regulation capacity exceeding 16 million kilowatts, playing an increasingly important role in ensuring summer power supply.
Over 5 Billion kWh of Power Moved Across Provinces Daily
Another crucial method for ensuring this year's summer peak power supply is cross-provincial and cross-regional power transmission. This year, an average of over 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity moves across provincial borders daily, relieving pressure on high-load areas. Several places across the country have recently seen their power loads hit new records. In Beijing, the grid load reached 29.939 million kilowatts on August 6, breaking the previous record set in 2024. Cooling loads, such as air conditioning, accounted for nearly half of this increase. To ensure adequate supply, wind power from Heilongjiang and solar power from Qinghai were dispatched to Beijing for the first time two days ago, delivering 47 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity. A trading official noted that the two regions have complementary generation characteristics, with Qinghai's solar power outputting more during the day and Heilongjiang's wind power during the night, allowing for optimized day-night relay trading to supply Beijing's midday air conditioning load and evening peak.
In Anhui, a new ultra-high voltage project from Northern Shaanxi, which began operation at the end of June, has strongly supported local power demand. The project has already transmitted over 2 billion kilowatt-hours, with a daily delivery exceeding 70 million kilowatt-hours, accounting for about one-third of Hefei's daily consumption. During this summer peak season, the maximum cross-regional transmission capacity in China has surpassed 278 million kilowatts, equivalent to the simultaneous output of 12 Three Gorges Dam power stations. A total of 46 ultra-high voltage projects are continuously sending surplus power from the northwest and southwest to the high-load central and eastern regions. At the same time, electricity market trading remains active. In the first half of the year, the volume of electricity traded in the national power market increased by 24.2% year-on-year, with more frequent trading making cross-regional power allocation more precise and efficient.
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