The National Energy Administration recently published a document on advancing energy development to assist poverty alleviation in underdeveloped regions. It pledged to extend the power grid to every rural community, and accelerate renovation of the rural grid in poor areas of western China. All counties in Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas of Qinghai Province will be connected to the national grid or covered by a regional grid of renewable energy.

In the 451 least developed counties across 15 provinces and autonomous regions blessed with ample sunshine, a photovoltaic aid project will be carried out in 35,700 poor rural communities, the document said. The project aims to increase the annual income per household there by RMB 3,000 or more by 2020.

When renovating the rural power grid, the central allocations will give priority to areas of extreme poverty, border areas, ethnic minority communities, and regions that were formerly revolutionary strongholds. Precedence is also given to poverty-stricken areas in planning for major energy, either new or conventional, exploration projects, and energy transport projects.