China plans 8,500 AI robots for power grid operations with massive $1 billion push

China’s State Grid is ramping up deployment of AI robots across power-grid operations, budgeting 6.8 billion yuan in 2026 for embodied intelligence systems.

About 8,500 robots are slated for purchase this year for remote inspections, hazardous maintenance, and transmission-line monitoring.

The fleet includes robot dogs, humanoids, and dual-arm robots, with suppliers such as Unitree, Deep Robotics, AgiBot, UBTech, and Fourier Intelligence.

China Southern Power Grid and other utilities are also investing, pushing total sector spending above 10 billion yuan.

The rollout highlights China’s push to modernize critical infrastructure, boost grid reliability, and accelerate industrial embodied AI adoption.