A 660-kilovolt direct current power transmission system, said to be the world’s first, began to supply energy Monday to a province that is located over 1,300 km away. The transmission system began carrying power from northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the eastern Shandong Province. The 10.4- billion-yuan ($1.58 billion) project is part of China’s west-east power transmission programme.

The cable system has a current-carrying capacity of 4 million kilowatts of electricity over a distance of 1,333 km through five provinces and regions. China’s coal resources are mainly based in the west and the north. The west-east power transmission programme was initiated in 2000.