China opens 3 ultra-high voltage transmission lines

China has taken another important step in reducing its high pollution levels and meeting the rising electricity demand in its eastern cities.

According to the National Energy Administration, the nation has ambitious plans to build 12 ultra-high-voltage transmission lines across the country and three such lines were opened Tuesday. The State Grid says the UHV lines will link the country's existing regional grids into a national grid network.

"The total transmission capacity of the project equals twice the total capacity of the city of Nanjing," said Xie Hongping, deputy director of Jiangsu Electric Power company, State Grid.

"That means we can save coal consumption of almost 200 million tons," said Zhang Zhengling, spokesperson of State Grid.

The three lines are the first to be commissioned in the National Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan -- the rest are expected to come online by 2017. The transmission lines are designed to draw power from the west -- where there are rich resources such as wind, coal and gas -- to the east. The cost of the three lines is 60 billion Yuan.

The three transmission lines are expected to stretch 4,700 kilometers and deliver more than 26 million kilo-watts of power to cities near the east coast. State Grid sayS this move could help meet the government's plans for energy efficiency and cutting pollution.