电网

• Pinyin: diàn wǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 电 = 雨 + 申 (electricity); 网 = pictograph of a net (net, network)

Meaning

Power grid; electricity grid. The interconnected network of transmission lines, substations, and infrastructure that distributes electrical power.

A critical piece of national infrastructure. 电网 encompasses both 输电网 (transmission grid) and 配电网 (distribution grid). In security contexts, 电网 can also refer to an electrified fence or wire barrier used for perimeter security. Both meanings are in active use.

Examples

1. 极端天气导致多条高压输电线路受损，引发大规模停电，当局紧急调配人员抢修受损电网。 Extreme weather damaged multiple high-voltage transmission lines, causing widespread power outages; authorities urgently deployed crews to repair the damaged power grid.
2. 该省正加快推进智能电网建设，通过大数据与物联网技术实现电力供需的精准实时调配。 The province is accelerating the buildout of a smart grid, using big data and IoT technologies to precisely balance power supply and demand in real time.
3. 军事设施周围架设了多层带电电网和红外探测装置，构建起严密的立体防御体系。 Around the military facility, multiple layers of electrified fencing and infrared sensors were installed, forming a tight, multi-layered defense system.

Usage Guide

Context: infrastructure, energy, engineering, security

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 国家电网公司宣布，将在未来五年内完成对全国老旧配电设备的全面升级改造，大幅提升电网的抗灾能力和供电可靠性。(State Grid Corporation announced that it will complete a comprehensive upgrade of outdated distribution equipment nationwide within the next five years, significantly improving the power grid's disaster-resistance capability and power supply reliability.)
• 黑客对关键电网基础设施发动网络攻击的威胁，已成为各国政府高度重视的国家安全议题之一。(The threat of cyber attacks by hackers on critical power grid infrastructure has become one of the national security issues that governments around the world attach great importance to.)

Don't Say

• 电力网电网 — redundant; 电力网 and 电网 refer to the same thing; use 电网 in all but the most technical engineering documents where 电力网 may be preferred

Origin & History

电 (electricity) + 网 (net, network) — a network for electricity distribution

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal