China Southern Power Grid recently showcased a range of innovations at the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. These innovations aim to support energy cooperation between China and ASEAN, focusing on digitalization, intelligent technologies, and green energy. The showcased technologies include the DaWatt – Lao Language Large Language Model (LLM) for the Energy and Power Sector V2.0 and the Flexible Grayscale Intelligent Monitoring & Analysis Platform for power system cybersecurity.
The Lao-language LLM has been deployed at Electricité du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), enabling automatic analysis of thousands of inspection images within a short period. After optimizing its algorithms for Laos' mountainous and rainforest terrain, the model completed intelligent inspection analysis for four transmission lines. It processed 26,000 drone inspection images and identified over 3,600 equipment defects. This technology has the potential to enhance power grid management and maintenance in the region.
Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has been building multilingual professional corpora for the power sector, covering ASEAN countries including Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The company is developing energy and power models tailored to ASEAN languages and real-world power industry applications, using the DaWatt foundation model. This effort aims to bridge language gaps and facilitate cooperation in the energy sector.
Talent development is another key focus of China-ASEAN energy cooperation. The China-ASEAN Institute of Energy, jointly established by Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and Guangxi University, is exploring an industry-university training model with a strong emphasis on practical experience. Two cohorts, totaling 53 students from ASEAN countries, have enrolled in the program, which aims to equip students with the skills needed to contribute to the energy sector.
Cooperation between China and ASEAN is evolving from one-way training to joint innovation. Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Cambodia have jointly established a laboratory for artificial intelligence and safety equipment. The company has also launched peer-to-peer exchanges with Electricité du Laos on improving power supply reliability. These collaborative efforts aim to drive innovation and knowledge sharing in the energy sector.
To address language barriers in cross-border technical exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has developed an AI-powered translation platform. The platform supports accurate translation between Chinese and English, Chinese and Lao, and Chinese and Vietnamese, and has a specialized database containing terminology for over 1,800 types of power equipment. This tool has facilitated communication and cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.
Looking ahead, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. plans to further advance a development model featuring "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, integration in Guangxi, and application in ASEAN." The company aims to expand its multilingual power-sector corpora and explore a "Token Goes Global" model for power-sector AI. This effort is expected to create new forms of China-ASEAN energy cooperation and support the green development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
Key points
- China Southern Power Grid showcases innovations to support energy cooperation between China and ASEAN.
- Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. develops multilingual professional corpora and AI-powered translation platforms to facilitate cooperation.
- China-ASEAN Institute of Energy established to promote talent development and industry-university collaboration.
