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Ahead of the APEC summit, participants from leading media organizations across Asia-Pacific economies—including media executives and editors-in-chief, senior journalists and international social media influencers—visited the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.
They toured the Hengqin Digital Zero-Carbon Island Shared Laboratory and the 220 kV Qinyun substation, among other sites, to experience first-hand the robust power infrastructure and innovative achievements underpinning the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the integrated development of Hengqin and Macao.
Ahead of the APEC summit, media executives and editors-in-chief of leading media organizations, senior journalists and international social media influencers from Asia-Pacific economies visit the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
Guangdong-Macao collaboration creates a model for Hengqin-Macao cooperation, services
Located at the southern tip of Zhuhai, Guangdong province, Hengqin lies just across the water from Macao and serves as an important platform for promoting Macao's moderate economic diversification.
At the Hengqin Digital Zero-Carbon Island Shared Laboratory, a waveform representing a transformer's acoustic signature flickered continuously across a screen in the basic research area, drawing the visitors' attention. "By monitoring a transformer's acoustic signature, the system can provide early warnings and help prevent unplanned outages," said Zhang Junpeng, an operation and maintenance technician at Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation. The acoustic signature recognition system is just one example of the many innovations developed at the Shared Laboratory.
The Hengqin Digital Zero-Carbon Island Shared Laboratory is attracting global partners to jointly explore energy innovation through its open and collaborative platform. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
The laboratory brings together innovation resources from 62 laboratories at various levels across China Southern Power Grid (CSG), including 1,628 pieces and sets of major scientific research instruments and equipment, 2,155 research achievements and 397 leading experts. As China's first cross-regional collaborative research platform in the energy and power sector serving Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the laboratory's efforts to facilitate exchanges among scientific and technological professionals, advance innovative technologies, and deepen the integrated development of Hengqin and Macao provide a compelling example of how power cooperation can contribute to shared prosperity across the Asia-Pacific.
"With access to data, R&D can move forward; with real-world application scenarios, technologies can come to life." During the visit, representatives of Macao enterprises described the changes brought about by joining the Shared Laboratory. Macao-based Pachira Times (Zhuhai Hengqin) Information Technology Co., Ltd., for example, is drawing on the extensive computing power and resources available through "MegaWatt," the power industry's first independently developed large AI model under CSG's own technological control, to conduct research in areas including transformer fault diagnosis using acoustic signatures and an acoustic interaction research and training platform. "We had the technology, but lacked real-world application scenarios. After joining the laboratory, some of our colleagues who had previously worked in Macao moved here, making it easier to test and validate our technologies in real-world power-sector applications," said the company's founder Ho Kuok Tou. This has enabled technologies to move from the laboratory into real-world projects and reach a broader market.
Hengqin's power supply reliability has reached a world-leading level, with a reliability rate of 99.99999%, while power can be restored within milliseconds following a fault. CSG is committed to supporting Macao's moderate economic diversification and is working to develop a high-quality power supply service model integrating the distinctive features of Guangdong and Macao.
At the Hengqin-Macao Customer Service Center, customer service managers can communicate in Mandarin, Cantonese and English according to customers' needs. A dedicated Hengqin version of the CSG's online service app has also been launched for Macao customers, creating China's first multilingual electricity customer service platform supporting Chinese, English and Portuguese. Barriers to electricity bill payment have also been removed, allowing Macao customers to make online payments without having to link a Chinese mainland bank card.
Staff assist a Macao resident with electricity services at the Hengqin-Macao Customer Service Center. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
Just across the road from the customer service center is Macao New Neighbourhood (MNN), the first integrated community development in the Chinese mainland built specifically for Macao residents, integrating residential, commercial, educational, healthcare and elderly care facilities. In response to the electricity-use habits and needs of Macao residents, CSG has built a charging station for the community, introduced a bill mailing service, and launched an innovative service that allows customers to scan a QR code to arrange electricity account transfers and connections quickly and conveniently.
In addition, the 19 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations built by CSG in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin all support both Chinese and European charging standards, meeting the charging needs of customers from Hong Kong and Macao while offering more affordable charging prices. At the same time, CSG continues to expand the use of green energy, creating a greener and more convenient setting for energy use by Macao residents and businesses in the Cooperation Zone.
At Macao New Neighbourhood, CSG's Hengqin Power Supply Bureau in Zhuhai, Guangdong, has built a community charging station equipped with charging points that support both Chinese and European standards, providing Macao residents with safer and more convenient EV charging. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
New energy vehicles from Hong Kong and Macao charge at CSG's integrated station combining wind and solar power generation, energy storage, EV charging and discharging in Hengqin. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
Since the Rules of Power Supply and Utilization in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin were issued, Hengqin and Macao have become increasingly connected and integrated in electricity services, an essential public service. To date, supporting infrastructure extending power supply to low-voltage connection points has been provided for 105 major Hengqin-Macao projects, saving customers approximately RMB 300 million in investment costs. The service model allowing customers to complete the process in a single visit has been further expanded, enabling industrial and commercial customers in the "non-scattered" connection category to have their electricity supply connected on the same day they apply. The provision allowing eligible power facilities to be excluded from floor area ratio (FAR) calculations has also been put into practice. Across eight projects, including the Hengqin-Macao Innovation Industrial Park, the total area of electrical equipment rooms excluded from FAR calculations has exceeded 11,500 square metres.
Strengthening the grid and upgrading operation and maintenance with smart technologies
"This is the first time I've seen a robotic dog at work. We don't have this technology in Fiji yet, so it's really new to me and fascinating!" said Anish Chand, a reporter with The Fiji Times.
At the 220 kV Qinyun substation in Hengqin, the robotic dog "Qinbao" moves effortlessly across the pebble-covered ground as media representatives look on. It quickly reaches a point near the main transformer, where it stops to take photos and measure temperatures, before transmitting the data back to the backend system.
"Qinbao," the robotic dog at Qinyun substation, demonstrates its operational capabilities. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
Qinyun substation plays an important role in supplying electricity to Macao. The 220 kV section of the substation has nearly 1,000 inspection points. Under the centralized coordination of Dianhong IoT OS, an Internet of Things operating system hosted by the OpenAtom Foundation, various digital and intelligent devices conduct artificial intelligence (AI)-powered collaborative inspections, with fixed cameras monitoring designated locations, the robotic dog capturing images of blind spots beyond the cameras' reach, and drones inspecting elevated areas. Tasks that previously took an entire day can now be completed within 30 minutes.
The deployment of inspection technology combining Dianhong with robotic devices has brought significant changes to operation and maintenance at Qinyun substation: from personnel carrying out tasks separately to unified, intelligent system-wide coordination; from inspections by individual devices to integrated ground-based and aerial collaborative inspections; and from manual troubleshooting after faults occur to AI-powered early warnings and intelligent decision support. Digital technologies are making grid operations safer and more efficient, providing a strong smart energy foundation for energy connectivity between Guangdong and Macao and the region's high-quality development.
As a key power hub connecting Guangdong and Macao, Qinyun substation is among China's first smart substations to fully adopt Dianhong. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
To meet Macao's growing electricity demand, CSG has been systematically strengthening its capacity to ensure reliable power supply to Macao. Since the beginning of this year, CSG has completed the cable conversion of the 220 kV Yannan Line on the central power supply corridor to Macao, creating an all-cable transmission corridor from the 500 kV Jialin substation in Zhuhai to the 220 kV Pac On substation in Macao and further enhancing the grid's resilience to high winds and other natural hazards. Integrated automation upgrades to the Main 2 protection and measurement and control devices on the 220 kV Qinlian A and Qinlian B lines, as well as to the measurement and control devices on the Qinlian C Line, have also been completed, strengthening the security of the secondary systems along the southern power supply corridor to Macao. In addition, CSG has completed a loop-closing test on the tie line connecting the 110 kV Guangdong-Macao backup interconnection circuits. Field testing has verified the lines' ability to transfer loads and provide backup supply for one another, providing a technical basis for flexible power supply transfers.
During the visit, the guests spoke highly of Hengqin's digital and intelligent power grid development. Frauleen Fredrick, news director of the Pohnpei Public Broadcasting Corporation, said, "We've experienced far too many power outages on our island. Seeing such a flexible substation here may offer us some useful ideas and lessons."
"The robotic dog is incredibly powerful. Even with three of us pulling against it, we were virtually overpowered!" said Zhao Guowen, an Australian producer, praising the robotic dog's impressive performance.
During an interactive demonstration, media representatives took on "Feiyun·Titan," China's first heavy-duty inspection robotic dog, independently developed by CSG's robotics laboratory, in a human-versus-machine tug-of-war. Less than two seconds after the contest began, the robotic dog won with ease. Designed to assist with inspections in the power industry, "Feiyun·Titan" can steadily pull a 2.55-tonne car, enabling it to haul various electrical tools and large items of equipment needed for power system inspections.
Media representatives compete in a tug-of-war with the robotic dog "Feiyun·Titan." [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
The de-icing robot "Qingling" and a power line insulator cleaning robot demonstrated their specialized capabilities in turn during the visit. "Qingling" can travel autonomously along power lines to remove ice and operate normally at temperatures as low as −15°C, while the insulator cleaning robot can autonomously remove contaminants from insulator surfaces, replacing manual cleaning work at height. "I was particularly interested in the de-icing robot. The demonstration showed how easily it could remove ice from power lines. This technology is highly practical," said Chanthamaitry Thepsimeuang, a journalist with Pasaxon Newspaper.
The de-icing robot "Qingling" demonstrates its power line de-icing capabilities. [Photo courtesy of Zhuhai Power Supply Bureau of CSG Guangdong Power Grid Corporation]
China is hosting APEC in 2026. The energy-sector theme of "Forge an Innovative and Synergistic Asia-Pacific Energy Community for All" both reflects the region's vision for energy cooperation and responds to the practical challenges it faces. Taking this media visit as an opportunity, CSG will further share the story of China's green energy transition, deepen exchanges and cooperation with Asia-Pacific economies in the energy and power sector, and contribute to the APEC 2026 theme of "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together."
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