If there’s anything absolutely indispensable in the modern world, electricity is definitely one of them. For 273 million people to achieve freedom in using electricity, a central enterprise without the "State" tag is there being a silent guardian.
Beginning in 2005, it has been on the Fortune Global 500 ranking for 18 years running. In 2023, it ranked 83rd with operating revenue of USD 113.7 billion, surpassing prominent companies like Huawei and Tencent, to secure the 3rd place among the companies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This is none other than China Southern Power Grid (CSG).
Headquartered in Guangzhou and overseeing five provinces including Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Hainan, CSG is responsible to light up China’s south and southwest regions. In the vast estuary of the Pearl River, CSG’s power transmission towers that extend along the coastline, and even connect the grids in Hong Kong and Macao SARs, as well as Southeast Asian countries.
Today, CSG’s power supply covers 1 million square kilometers, with a total length of transmission lines reaching 258,000 kilometers, which is over 6 times the equator. Over the past decade, its electricity sales volume has surged from 701 billion kWH to 1,263 billion kWH, and revenue has nearly doubled from 419.2 billion to 764.2 billion yuan. As a mainstay in China’s West-to-East Electricity Transmission Project, CSG’s power transmission capacity has also increased from 124.3 billion kWh a decade ago to 215.6 billion kWh, undoubtedly one of the behemoths among China's energy enterprises.
In June 2009, CSG led the successful operation of the 500 kV Hainan Interconnection Project, ending the island province’s 95-year history of being "electricity isolated". Later in December, realizing the West-to-East Transmission Project, not content with these achievements, CSG also continues to expand its footprint overseas.
In the Lancang-Mekong region, over ten "power expressways" interconnect with the national power grids in the region. In Latin America, construction is underway for the first high-voltage direct current transmission line in Chile, a project that CSG is participating in, which is expected to create at least 5,000 jobs locally.
Serving as a strong support pillar for the rapid economic growth of the Greater Bay Area, CSG is weaving currents to form the bonds of prosperity. As of November 20 2023, CSG has accumulated a power transmission capacity surpassing 70 billion kWh in Macao, a breakthrough for the Guangdong-Macao power grid in its 39-year history. Over the past 20 years, what was once a small sapling has since grown into a towering tree. The conglomerate now oversees 4 subsidiaries, 13 wholly-owned subsidiaries, and 9 holding subsidiaries, with an employee count nearing 279,000.
CSG is also responsible for over 100 million kWh of new energy installations across five provinces and regions, establishing a fundamental framework for clean power supply. At present, clean energy accounts for one-third of the electricity supply in Guangdong Province, equivalent to cutting emissions by planting ten million acres of trees. Within the Greater Bay Area, clean energy installations take up 67.8% of the total installed capacity.
Looking back, there's brilliance, looking ahead, there's hope. CSG is making great strides as it advances along its new journey toward digitalization and a low-carbon presence.
