Promote coordinated development of the "Six Networks" through new power grid construction
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Optimize the layout, structure, functions, and system integration of infrastructure to build a modern infrastructure system." At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held on 4 month 28, it was stressed to strengthen the planning and construction of water networks, new power grids, computing networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipe networks, and logistics networks. These "six major networks" play foundational, guiding, and strategic roles; their coordinated development will effectively promote expanding domestic demand and unblocking economic circulation. China Southern Power Grid Company is deeply implementing the decisions and部署 of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, advancing the coordinated development of the "six major networks" through new power grid construction, providing strong support for building a modern socialist country.
Leverage the synergistic leadership of the "Six Networks" to build a modern infrastructure system.
The "Six Networks" form the core framework of a modern infrastructure system. Their integrated and coordinated development will serve as a key driver for modernization.
The synergy of the "Six Networks" holds strategic significance, embodying an organic unity of economic, social, ecological, and security benefits. It amplifies stable growth and expands domestic demand by coordinating to ensure precise project placement, concentrated resource mobilization, and linked industrial action, achieving the optimal balance of investment returns, industrial gains, and growth outcomes in infrastructure development. It enhances the quality and effectiveness of public welfare and well-being by coordinating complementary functions across networks, collaborative operations, and shared resources, delivering the best combination of convenience, reliability, and inclusivity in infrastructure services. It builds momentum for transformation and strengthens driving forces by promoting intelligent, green, and integrated development of traditional industries, catalyzing new business formats, models, and sectors that optimally match infrastructure operations. It solidifies risk prevention and bottom-line safeguards by coordinating capabilities for sensing, early warning, and control within the infrastructure risk management system, achieving the most effective integration of these critical functions.
The "Six Networks" are built on a solid foundation for synergy. Although these six networks are heterogeneous systems, they share underlying mechanisms and foundational elements. Their network architecture offers broad connectivity: all consist of nodes, channels, and links, demonstrating typical economies of scale and agglomeration effects, establishing a robust basis for interconnection. Their spatial layout shows strong geographic correlation: land, corridors, station sites, and pipeline slots used in their construction are mutually nested, creating a foundation for shared infrastructure and integration. Their operational functions exhibit high coordination: core elements such as water, power, computing, communications, pipelines, and data flow circulate across networks, with each function supporting the others, enabling complementary efficiency gains. Their technology stack demonstrates compatibility: digital intelligence is the evolution direction for all six networks, deeply relying on universal technologies like IoT and AI, providing a foundation for iterative advancement. Their application scenarios show strong adaptability: service use cases overlap significantly; industries such as industrial upgrading, urban governance, green transition, and emergency response require multi-network functionality integration, establishing a practical foundation for coordinated deployment.
Leverage the underlying logic of "six networks" synergy to enhance integrated development effectiveness.
The synergy of the "Six Networks" is essentially the coupling of heterogeneous systems, underpinned by clear system, technical, value, and governance logics.
Build on mechanistic research to innovate collaborative models. The resource circulation mechanism achieves efficient spatiotemporal flow of energy, information, and material flows through transformation of factor utilization forms, structural combination, and cross-domain reconfiguration. The functional interaction mechanism drives the evolution from single functions to integrated functions via foundational support, specialized complementarity, and composite stacking. The value transmission mechanism shifts from single-network value accumulation to multi-network value aggregation through value synergy enhancement and value-empowered creation. The technical support mechanism enables cross-network application and integration of common technologies via technology reuse, compatibility, and linkage.
Centered on technical consensus, we bridge collaborative pathways. At the physical layer, we strengthen unified spatial planning, interface interoperability, and major project alignment to ensure networks are compatible, shareable in space, and capable of coordinated operation. At the data layer, we connect the full chain from perception, exchange, aggregation, to application, enabling trusted data flow, secure sharing, and cross-domain empowerment across networks. At the rules layer, we establish technical standards and management norms covering the entire lifecycle—from planning and construction to operations—to achieve mutual recognition, interoperability, and compatible iteration of network technical paradigms.
Use scenario co-building as the foundation to validate collaborative value. Taking the new power grid as an example: - **Power Grid & Water Network**: Focus on smart scheduling collaboration, exploring green scenarios such as "water-determined power generation" and "power-driven water regulation." - **Power Grid & Computing Power Network**: Emphasize energy-saving and carbon-reduction collaboration, demonstrating scenarios like "power-enhanced computing" and "computing-driven power optimization." - **Power Grid & Communication Network**: Prioritize digital interaction collaboration, advancing digital scenarios including "power-backed information security" and "power-strengthened communications." - **Power Grid & Underground Pipeline Network**: Drive urban renewal through integrated management, promoting shared utility corridors and joint pipeline maintenance. - **Power Grid & Logistics Network**: Integrate transportation and energy systems, fostering ecological synergy with two-way interactions between logistics and energy flows.
Ensure long-term synergy through robust mechanism building. Optimize timing, pace, and effectiveness by strengthening multi-network joint planning, ensuring scientific alignment in spatial layout, physical interfaces, and construction sequencing to achieve an optimal collaborative efficiency pattern. Establish full-chain integration across investment, construction, and operations by embedding multi-network collaboration requirements into the entire infrastructure lifecycle, fostering a normalized governance model for co-planning, shared resources, joint projects, co-developed scenarios, and unified standards. Design clear accountability and authority mechanisms to enable multi-party collaborative investment, fair cost-sharing, and equitable value distribution, creating a virtuous ecosystem characterized by well-defined responsibilities and inclusive shared benefits.
Leverage the "Six Networks" synergy hub positioning to accelerate the construction of a new power grid.
The new power grid is a shared resource supply platform centered on the energy foundation and a personalized resource interaction platform built on the data foundation, delivering significant connectivity and empowerment effects. China Southern Power Grid will adhere to optimizing social benefits as the guiding principle, green and low-carbon development as the driving force, technological innovation as the engine, market operations as the pathway, and safe development as the foundation. We will accelerate the construction of the new power grid to support the coordinated development of the "Six Networks."
Strengthen the new power grid architecture to enable deep interconnection across the "Six Networks." Lead coordinated planning with a flexible main grid, aligning with national spatial planning, urban renewal, and industrial development initiatives. Accelerate construction of the flexible interconnection backbone, using key elements such as power supply and green resources to drive multi-network coordination. Build a resilient distribution network to support collaborative functions by creating a high-reliability, high-capacity modern distribution system that fully accommodates connections at core hubs and critical nodes across networks, enabling robust cross-domain security and interaction. Expand collaboration boundaries with an elastic microgrid by deploying intelligent microgrids tailored to local conditions, meeting diverse energy usage patterns and dynamic linkage needs at terminal sites across multiple networks.
Break new ground in next-generation grid technologies to empower the joint iterative upgrade of the "Six Networks." Accelerate breakthroughs in key technologies by deepening research on multi-energy coordinated control, cross-network data fusion, and heterogeneous system coupling. Rapidly mature and validate cross-network integration technologies, delivering comprehensive solutions for hardware/software equipment and engineering integration. Fast-track digital intelligence transformation by evolving the digital grid into a collaborative foundation, scaling up the deployment of "Power Harmony" IoT terminals, and building industry-grade trusted data spaces with high standards. This enables visibility and measurability across multiple networks while ensuring seamless data sharing and integration. Strengthen the standardization framework by collaborating with the industry chain to establish unified standards for planning and construction, technical interfaces, pilot testing, and data sharing. Standardize operational mechanisms for multi-network coordinated dispatch and solidify long-term institutional support.
Upgrade next-generation power grids and services to unlock the synergistic value of the "Six Networks." Empower green development across multiple networks through low-carbon energy use by strengthening coordination between green power supply, advanced manufacturing, computing power, and logistics. Enhance specialized services for green power resource aggregation, traceability certification, and energy efficiency optimization to improve the energy consumption structure. Realize multi-network value through a unified market by actively integrating into the national unified electricity market, fully launching the Southern Regional Electricity Market, innovating cross-category trading models, exploring coordinated pricing mechanisms, and driving efficient allocation of "Six Networks" resources within the national unified large market. Foster a collaborative ecosystem via integrated fusion by co-developing a "Six Networks" collaborative management platform, leveraging the "Dual Carbon" goals as a driver, iterating and upgrading the electricity-carbon-computing collaborative operation system, and cultivating new business formats such as multi-network interconnection, multi-station integration, and vehicle-grid interaction to build a more dynamic and valuable industrial ecosystem. (Qian Chaoyang)
(Author: Party Secretary and Chairman of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd.)
People's Daily (2026, 09 29, Page 11)