The State Grid is known as the Oriental Thor, from a difficult start to a global leader, the rise of China's electric power?

You may be no stranger to the State Grid. But did you think that once we gently closed that switch, five countries in Asia would be plunged into darkness and the power supply would come to an abrupt halt? If we decide to take back those leading power technologies, it is shocking that as many as 11 countries will have their utilities in huge distress and may even be on the verge of bankruptcy. What's even more remarkable is that even the United States, which is a leading technology today, has a large number of Chinese signs in its power system. Behind this seemingly contradictory phenomenon, in fact, the United States hides deep worries and helplessness about China's power technology. While they claim that China's power technology poses a serious threat to them, they have to learn the key technologies with difficulty.

The answer is simple, because there is hardly a second power technology supplier in the world that can match it, apart from China. With UHV alone, the leading technology, the State Grid is enough to compete with any power giant in the world and show its unparalleled strength. Even Steven Chu, then the U.S. Secretary of Energy, expressed envy for China to share this cutting-edge technology with the United States.

However, UHV is just a trump card in the hands of the State Grid. In addition to this technology, the State Grid has a staggering 110,000 patents, a number that is so large that many people can imagine, let alone compare to an individual's savings. These patents not only represent the profound heritage and strong strength of State Grid in the field of electric power, but also an important witness to the rise of China's power industry.

You ask me if I'm happy? I naturally feel extremely happy, because behind this is the brilliance of decades of unremitting struggle and hard work. Looking back a few decades ago, the mainland was struggling in the field of electric power, not only high-end patented technology was out of reach, but even basic power equipment needed to rely on other countries. What is even more outrageous is that some Western countries have also forced us to buy some inconsequential items, such as faucets, in the form of bundled sales, which is undoubtedly a great humiliation to the mainland's power industry. Many of the older generation of power grid workers recall those days with resentment in their hearts, and feel heartbroken when they see the faucets that were forced to be bought.

It is precisely this humiliation and predicament that has stimulated the fighting spirit and determination of people in the mainland's power industry. They are not afraid of difficulties, face difficulties, and write a counterattack legend in the power industry with wisdom and sweat. From being stared down and lagging behind others in the past, to leading the industry and formulating rules, China's power industry has achieved leapfrog development.

So how exactly is all this done? Behind this is inseparable from the support of national policies, the efforts of scientific researchers, and the wisdom of entrepreneurs. The mainland power industry has continuously improved its own technical level through the introduction of digestion, absorption and re-innovation, and gradually broke the foreign technology monopoly. At the same time, we also focus on cultivating our core technology and innovation capabilities, and gradually emerge in the global power field.

State Grid has become an important player in the global power industry, and its influence is increasing day by day. We not only have many patented technologies, but also have made remarkable achievements in the fields of UHV and smart grid. State Grid plays a leading and rule-making role in the world, and has made great contributions to promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the mainland's power industry.

Today, China is emerging in the global power sector and leading the industry, but what is less well known is that at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, our power industry had a difficult start. At that time, the country's installed power capacity was only 1.85 million kilowatts, and the total annual power generation was only 4.3 billion kilowatt hours, which was only equivalent to the output of a medium-sized power plant. At the same time, the United States produces a staggering 296.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, which we can't even reach a fraction of the electricity we compare.

In the face of such a huge gap, we know that only by introducing foreign advanced equipment and gradually groping forward can we gradually narrow the gap with developed countries. However, the road was not easy, but full of humiliation and hardship. According to the memories of the older generation of power grid people, we tried to introduce a batch of power equipment from Japan, and after dozens of rounds of arduous negotiations, we finally reached a preliminary intention. However, at the critical moment of signing the contract, Japan suddenly asked us to buy a batch of their old faucets by the way, otherwise we would refuse to trade. This unreasonable demand makes us feel humiliated, but we have no choice but to accept it in a reluctant voice.

The Nanqiao converter station, which was put into operation in 1989, has witnessed the tortuous course of the development of the mainland's electric power industry. At that time, even the turf for the outdoor field at the Nanqiao converter station was imported, not because we were willing to spend money on this kind of place, but because we couldn't buy the much-needed equipment without buying turf. What's even more touching is that the Nanqiao converter station was self-derided by the power grid people as the "Eight-Nation Alliance", because except for a small number of 35 thousand volt circuit breakers, most of the key equipment was imported from seven different countries.

This history tells us that the development of China's electric power industry has not been smooth sailing, but has gone through countless hardships and efforts. But it is the perseverance and unremitting struggle of these older generation of power grid people that have laid a solid foundation for our brilliant achievements today. Today, we have stood at the forefront of the global power field, but we must always remember this history, cherish the hard-won achievements, and continue to work hard to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the mainland's power industry.

With the advent of the millennium, China has ushered in a stage of rapid development. In 2002, China's power industry underwent a major structural adjustment and the State Grid Corporation of China came into being. Soon after, the State Grid put the research and development of ultra-high voltage transmission technology on the agenda. Although the development of this technology took more than ten years, it does not seem to have yielded the desired results, and the Soviet Union's decades of research have failed to complete the technology, leaving only a half-finished product.

On the international stage, when China announced its plans to develop ultra-high voltage transmission technology, it was ridiculed by some countries as being as arrogant as a middle school student who claims to solve advanced math problems. However, the reality of China is that most of the power generation resources are concentrated in the northwest, while the large cities that consume electricity are concentrated in the southeast. This means that the transmission of power over long distances, with high capacity and low losses is an urgent task.

Although the specific research and development process is complex and long, in the process of developing this technology, countless researchers have persevered, learning and practicing at the same time. If the previous research and development can still rely on the existing experience and technology, then in this field, China has almost no previous experience to learn from, can only rely on its own strength, and finally in 2009, the world's first UHV AC transmission project was officially put into operation in China, marking China's breakthrough in this field and becoming the global leader in UHV transmission technology.