(TibetanReview.net, Dec19’25) – In its continuing efforts to make Tibet pay for sustaining its occupation rule there, China has announced the launch of its first ultra-high voltage (UHV) power transmission project in Tibet autonomous region (TAR) following the completion on Dec 18 of a 168-hour trial run of a converter station at an altitude of 3,720 meters. The project will transfer clean energy power from TAR over 1,900 km to central China’s Hubei Province, reported China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Dec 19.
The operation of the Karmai station, located in Mangkam county in TAR’s Chamdo city, also signifies the full completion of a local direct current (DC) power transmission project, which has now officially begun delivering clean power to central China, the report said.
Feeding the converter station is a 750,000-kW hydropower station on the Jinsha River (Tibetan: Drichu).
The ±800 kV DC power transmission project, with an investment of 34.3 billion yuan ($4.9 billion), is designed to transmit 40 billion kWh of clean electricity annually. Powered primarily by hydropower with supplementary solar and other renewables, the project will replace over 12 million tonnes of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 30 million tonnes annually, the report said.
UHV refers to power transmission technology with exceptionally high voltage levels, typically defined as alternating current (AC) projects at 1000 kV and above, and DC projects at ±800 kV and above, the report noted.
The report continued that compared to conventional transmission lines, UHV DC power transmission offers the advantages of longer distances, higher capacity, and lower losses, enabling stable, large-scale transmission over thousands of km, akin to an “expressway” for electricity.
The Karmai station is equipped with cameras, track-based inspection robots and robotic dogs for round-the-clock automated inspection and monitoring, significantly reducing manual on-site work at such a high altitude, Gu Pen, the station’s deputy head, has said.
Wang Bingqiang, a manager at State Grid Xizang Electric Power Company Limited, has said the full operation of the transmission line further integrates the Tibetan plateau region into China’s national energy landscape, supporting the optimisation of regional energy structures and the “dual carbon” goals, while demonstrating China’s capability and innovation in UHV core technologies in complex high-altitude environments.
The report said that over the past years, China had invested heavily in the construction of UHV power transmission lines to deliver electricity from the PRC’s energy-rich west to China’s booming east and increase consumption of clean energy sources for green economic growth.