Power grid operator supports poverty alleviation in Hechi

Beautiful scenery of Donglan county in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Ma Huabin/Hechi Daily]

China Southern Power Grid, China's second largest grid company, has carried out a large amount of investment in Donglan county, Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region since 2013, helping lift the county out of poverty.

The company has completed 1.05 billion yuan ($146.6 million) in power grid investment and contributed 66.2 million yuan in poverty alleviation donation funds, reducing the incidence of poverty in Donglan county from 23.27 percent at the end of 2015 to 1.66 percent at the end of 2019, as well as helping lift 16,690 households out of poverty.

Based on the transformation of the rural power grid, the company has invested 265 million yuan to explore the construction of a smart grid in Donglan. To date, 387 smart grid projects have been completed, while a number of distribution automation projects and 101 smart distribution areas have been built.

The company's donation funds have been used to develop industries in the county. The edible fungus project, which involves 147 impoverished villages in the county, increased the annual collective income of each village by more than 12,000 yuan. The Donglan black-bone chicken breeding industrial park was built to cultivate and promote the development of Donglan's characteristic poverty alleviation industry, solving the employment problem of impoverished people nearby.

In addition, the company also supports Donglan through consumption. In 2019, its procurement of Donglan agricultural products exceeded 4 million yuan. This year, the company will continue to build 302 designated poverty alleviation projects, striving to complete their construction and bring benefits to the county by the end of June.