At HUAWEI CONNECT 2026 in Shanghai, Huawei hosted its 2026 Global Electric Power Summit, bringing together more than 600 representatives from power companies, industry organizations, ecosystem partners, and media outlets to examine how digital and intelligent technologies can be applied across the global energy sector.

The summit operated under the theme "AI × Energy: Unlocking a New Power System" and served as the venue for announcing six concrete demonstration projects spanning multiple countries and regions.

Six Showcases Span Generation to Consumption

The centerpiece announcement of the summit was the joint unveiling of six global power showcases, described by Huawei as end-to-end digital and intelligent transformation practices covering the full spectrum from power generation to consumption and from domestic to international deployments.

The six projects include the digital and intelligent grid of Brazil's CEMIG; a new power system demonstration zone featuring distribution and microgrid synergy operated by the Guangzhou Baiyun Power Supply Bureau of the China Southern Power Grid; intelligent diagnosis and smart operations within the new power distribution network in Shaoshan, Hunan, China; an intelligent power supply and consumption project in Jiangxi, China; a high-voltage direct current project described as a ±800 kV UHV digital converter station in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China; and a power communication network in Liaoning, China.

Huawei said these six projects collectively demonstrate practices across different scenarios spanning the entire power process in what it describes as the intelligent era.

The company characterized the announcement as a substantial step forward for the power industry, representing a shift from what it called unidirectional enablement to computing-power synergy.

A Sector Under Profound Transformation

The backdrop to the summit is a global energy landscape that, according to Huawei, is undergoing profound change. Distributed renewable energy has become a critical factor in reducing external dependency while balancing grid resilience and expanding electricity access.

Philippe Adam, Secretary-General of the International Council on Large Electric Systems, known as CIGRE, addressed the gathering and described the pressures driving change across the sector.

Adam stated: "The power industry is undergoing massive transformation, driven by energy transition, AI data centers, and digitalization." His remarks framed the summit discussions within a broader global context in which the convergence of renewable energy growth and accelerating digitalization is reshaping how power infrastructure must be designed and operated.

Huawei pointed to a specific challenge of scale in its summit communications, noting that 700 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity. The company positioned this access gap, alongside the renewable energy transition and intelligent transformation of existing grids, as intertwined challenges that the power sector must address simultaneously.

Low Voltage Identified as Key Battleground

A significant portion of Huawei's technical messaging at the summit focused on the low-voltage segment of power grids, which the company described as a bottleneck.

Huawei's position is that the low-voltage side will become the main arena for AI application in power systems going forward, and that closing what it describes as the low-voltage management gap requires systematic and transparent management.

The company outlined six core capabilities it considers essential for achieving what it calls low-voltage transparency: observability, measurability, controllability, adjustability, tradability, and traceability. Huawei framed all six as necessary for long-term sustainability of power systems.

David Sun, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei's Electric Power Digitalization Business Unit, elaborated on the practical requirements for advancing this agenda.

"The essence of low-voltage transparency is simple: faster data, higher quality, and greater cost-efficiency," Sun said. He added that unlocking a new power system requires the industry to advance with three core priorities, which he described as digital talent first, digital infrastructure first, and digital regulated asset base first.

Framework for Industry Collaboration

Beyond the six showcases, Huawei outlined its broader strategic approach for engaging the global power sector. The company said it intends to continue focusing on its strengths in the information and communications technology field. It described a three-layer framework built around metrics, architectures, and technologies as the foundation through which it plans to work with global power enterprises, standards organizations, and ecosystem partners.

The stated goal of that collaborative effort is to drive innovation and foster what Huawei characterized as the upgrade of the industry and overall ecosystem prosperity. The company did not provide specific timelines or financial commitments attached to those ambitions in the summit communications.

Summit Scale and Broader Conference Context

The Global Electric Power Summit was one of several events held during HUAWEI CONNECT 2026, a broader industry conference that also featured announcements related to intelligent wide area networking and a new partner support system for scaling AI across industries.

The electric power summit drew representation from across the value chain, including power companies, industry bodies, and ecosystem and technology partners, reflecting the cross-sector nature of the digital transformation challenges Huawei and the industry are attempting to address.

The choice of the six showcases, spanning Brazil and multiple provinces across China, signals Huawei's intention to position its electric power digitalization work as a global rather than domestically focused initiative, encompassing both established grid infrastructure and newer distributed and microgrid models.

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