With the last cables connected yesterday morning in Liantang Town, a 10-kilovolt power line linking QingpuDistrict in Shanghai with Jiashanin neighboring Zhejiang Province was completed.

This marks the first cross-provincial power distribution network of its kind in the Yangtze River Delta.

Currently, power transmission across provinces mostly occurs through 500-kilovolt high-voltage cables. The voltage is then reduced by local power transformer substations before it reaches end users.

But the lack of cross-province low-voltage power lines in the region has created supply problems for residents living in its border areas, where existing distribution networks usually terminate.

“The far ends of the networks can often be unstable,” an official from State Grid Shanghai Company said. “When the network breaks down, it also takes some time to repair because you can’t take 500-kilovolt power from the neighboring province directly to residents.” The new 10-kilovolt lines connecting Qingpu and Jiashan will provide an alternative power source.