The State Grid Corp of China plans to boost investments in the country’s power grids to 2.55 trillion yuan (USD 390.63 billion) in the coming five-year plan, up 68 percent from the preceding period, the China Securities Journal reported.

Of the total budget, it will spend USD 77 billion on both the construction of ultra-high-voltage power transmission lines and supporting distribution networks. The remaining USD 239 billion will be used to build conventional power lines and networks, the paper said, citing an unidentified senior official from the grid’s research arm.

Ultra-high-voltage lines are able to send more electricity over longer distances compared with conventional lines, with transmission capacity of around 1,000 kilovolts (KV) compared with around 500 KV for conventional power lines in China.

The state grid has said it plans to build a network of ultrahigh- voltage transmission lines by 2020 to link major energy production bases in the northern and western regions with the country’s key power consuming bases, which are concentrated in eastern and southern provinces.