"Ever since we got electricity, our life has become much more convenient. Every household has a TV and an electrical ghee blender. I plan to get a refrigerator this year too." Sogdoi, a villager from Ya Rang in Medog County, Nyingchi Prefectureof Tibet said.

Medog County is in the south-eastern part of Tibet, which has long suffered from a lack of development in energy, transportation, and other infrastructures. The Ya Rang hydropower station was built in a neighboring county and began providing electricity at the end of 2015, greatly improving people’s lives.

During "the 12th Five-Year Plan", energy development in Tibet moved into the fast lane and has formed a sustainable and combined energy system featuring oil, gas, and renewable energy with hydropower at the core. The Tibet Plateau, which struggled with a lack of electricity for a long time, is now enjoying much more access to electricity.

Liu Xiaoming, chairman of the Tibet Power Co., the State Grid Corporation of China, explained that "the 12th Five-Year Plan" has been the fastest-growing and best phase for developing electricity in Tibet so far. 27.3billion yuan was invested in developing the power grid for Tibet, four times as much as the total investment during "the 11th Five-Year Plan".

In the last five years, Tibet has built Laohuzui Dam, Zangmu Dam, Dup Dam, Qamdo emergency power supply, Ngari emergency power supply, Nagqu wind power station, a large parallel PV power station, and other major projects, while construction for the Qamdo Dam, Yangyidi power station and some village-based hydropower stations has also begun, greatly boosting power generation and supply for the entire region.

Ren Jingdong, the deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Chief of the Energy Bureau, commented that as of the end of 2015, the volume and power generation of the electrical stations in Tibet have reached 2.2million kilowatts and 4.22 billion kilowatts，an increase of 136% and 75% respectively from the end of 2010. Tibet has preliminarily achieved power supply for all. The total amount of power used in Tibet is now at 4.48 billion kilowatts, an increase of 97.5% in five years.

Because of Tibet’s diverse geography and scattered populations of the farmers and shepherds, the region has focused on implementing power construction in power-less areas and improving farm-based power grids. With the construction of small hydro-power stations and stand-alone PV power stations, people in remote areas are able to get power more quickly, and more and more farmers and shepherds have access to clean energy.

Ren Jindong said, "We have preliminarily achieved supplying power to everyone in Tibet by helping the 780 thousand power-less residents in remote areas with PV power stations."

"In 2020, we plan to have power grid coverage for all 74 counties and main villages, with coverage for 97% of the population, basically achieving reliable, high-quality, and safe power for every single resident in Tibet.” Liu Xiaoming said.