China has fundamentally improved the business environment and supply reliability of electricity, and significantly reduced power outages in urban and rural areas during the past few years, a senior energy official said.

After years of combined effort, China has made connecting to the power grid easier and more affordable across the country, Song Hongkun, deputy director of the National Energy Administration, said during a news conference held in Beijing on Thursday.

As a result, the average power outage time for urban and rural grid users decreased by 28 percent and 44 percent, respectively, last year compared to 2020.

Major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Pearl River Delta region saw average outage times fall below one hour this year, with core urban areas reaching levels comparable to advanced global cities, he said.

Looking ahead, China aims to establish a modern business environment for the power sector, characterized by convenience, high-quality supply, green usage, universal service, and coordinated regulation by 2029, further supporting the country's modernization drive, Song added.

According to the administration, the country's installed renewable energy capacity reached almost 2.02 billion kilowatts by the end of April, a year-on-year increase of 58 percent. Combined wind and solar power capacity hit 1.53 billion kilowatts, surpassing thermal power for the first time.

In 2024 alone, China added 373 million kilowatts of renewable energy capacity, accounting for approximately 86 percent of the total new power capacity. For the past two consecutive years, new renewable energy installations have exceeded 300 million kilowatts, representing over 50 percent of global additions, it said.

Renewable energy generation reached 3.47 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2024, about 35 percent of total power generation. Wind and solar power have maintained a high overall utilization rate in recent years, Song noted.

To further enhance the grid's ability to absorb renewable energy, China has been actively promoting the construction of large-scale clean energy bases and inter-provincial transmission lines, improving system regulation capabilities. The government has set a target of ensuring a national renewable energy utilization rate of no less than 90 percent by 2027.

According to Song, the administration has been continuously improving the comprehensive carrying capacity of distribution networks to accommodate the increasing proportion of distributed renewable energy sources, particularly distributed solar power.

This involves strengthening the construction and upgrading of distribution grids, building robust and flexible networks, enhancing intelligent capabilities, and refining grid dispatch and operation mechanisms, he said.

According to Zhou Xia, director-general of the center of power reliability management at the China Electricity Council, significant investment and technological progress have positioned China as the operator of the world's most advanced power grid.

National power supply reliability reached 99.924 percent last year, a further improvement from the previous year and a dramatic increase compared to the early 1990s when urban residents experienced an average of 96.54 hours of power outages annually, she said.

Rural areas have also seen substantial gains, with power supply reliability for rural grid users substantially improved.

Qian Chaoyang, general manager of China Southern Power Grid, said the company has increased investment in rural grid construction this year to enhance its capacity to absorb distributed renewable energy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the company has invested over 170 billion yuan ($23.68 billion) in rural grid network, with 31.2 billion yuan allocated for this year. Investments will be further increased during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) to improve the situation, he said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn