XINING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Over 300,000 residents in 38 impoverished counties in Northwest China's Qinghai Province have benefited from a power grid upgrading program.

The program has invested about 2.49 billion yuan (360.6 million U.S. dollars) including 566 projects on power grid construction and upgrades in rural areas since June this year.

About 33 percent of the projects are carried out in the most poverty-stricken counties in Qinghai, facing low voltage, insufficient electricity supplies and severe safety hazards from the power grid.

In 2016, China started electricity power grid upgrades in rural areas to ensure stable nationwide coverage by 2020. By the end of 2017, China had upgraded power grids in 78,533 villages, according to the National Energy Administration.