An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2026 shows outgoing lines of the Yubei converter station of the Hami-Chongqing ±800 kV ultra-high voltage direct current transmission project, in southwest China"s Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

　　Each year, surging temperatures put China"s power grid to the test at the height of summer. In recent weeks, sweltering heat and high humidity have gripped many megacities, driving electricity demand to record highs.

　　While rolling blackouts in response to a summer crunch are not yet a distant memory, power grid operators across China have nonetheless faced the 2026 summer peak with greater confidence, thanks to advances in securing power supplies and strengthening grid flexibility.

　　Long-distance power transmission enabled by ultra-high-voltage (UHV) technology, energy storage and virtual power plants are among the measures helping keep electricity supplies stable as demand soars.

　　LONG-DISTANCE POWER TRANSMISSION

　　The summer heat test is particularly tough for Chongqing, a megacity in southwest China with a population of more than 30 million, known as one of the country"s "furnaces" due to its ruthlessly sultry summers.

　　Keeping the city"s air conditioners running and its automotive and electronics assembly lines humming through the summer peak puts enormous pressure on the local power grid. But a game-changer arrived in June last year, when the Hami-Chongqing transmission line, a 2,260-kilometer energy artery using UHV technology, went into operation.

　　This UHV line carries electricity generated in Hami, northwest China"s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to Chongqing, with more than 70 percent of the power coming from clean energy sources.