BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China will invest a total of 40.5 billion yuan (6.4 billion U.S. dollars) in rural power grid upgrades in 26 central and western regions this year, according to an energy official.

Of the investment, 12 billion yuan will come from the central budget, said Liu Baohua, deputy head of the National Energy Administration.

To address problems like low voltage and insufficient supply, China started a round of electricity power grid upgrades in rural areas in 2016 to ensure stable nationwide coverage by 2020.

At the end of 2017, China had upgraded power grids in 78,533 villages, according to Liu.

To vitalize the rural areas, China pledged to improve the infrastructure for supplying water, power, and information, and build or upgrade 200,000 kilometers of rural roads this year.