BEIJING, Feb. 6 -- China Southern Power Grid plans to build a 800 kilovolt (kv) direct-current transmission line from southwest China's Yunnan Province to south China's Guangdong Province during the 2006-2010 period.

The line, the first of its kind in the world, will transmit electric power generated by Xiaowan and Jinanqiao hydropower stations in Yunnan to the load centre in Guangdong.

Compared with the existing 500-kv double-current transmission line, the 800-kv one is a super electric expressway with more capacity and stable performance, which will improve the transmission capacity by a big margin.

According to the country's plan to transmit electricity from the western areas to eastern China, an additional 11.5 million to 13.5 million kW of electricity will be sent to Guangdong Province during the 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010) with the new transmission line to play an important role