At the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, China Southern Power Grid unveiled a suite of digital innovations aimed at deepening energy cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Among the highlights were the DaWatt - Lao Language Large Language Model (LLM) for the Energy and Power Sector V2.0 and the Flexible Grayscale Intelligent Monitoring & Analysis Platform for power system cybersecurity. These technologies signal a significant step toward integrating digitalization, intelligent systems, and green energy across the region.
The Lao-language LLM has already been deployed at Electricité du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), where it rapidly analyzes thousands of inspection images. After optimizing its algorithms for Laos' mountainous and rainforest terrain, the model completed intelligent inspection analysis for four transmission lines, processing 26,000 drone inspection images and identifying more than 3,600 equipment defects. This capability could dramatically improve maintenance efficiency and reliability for Laos' power infrastructure, reducing downtime and operational costs.
Liu Ying, general manager of the Digitalization Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd., explained that the company is building multilingual professional corpora for the power sector, covering ASEAN countries including Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Leveraging the DaWatt foundation model, the company is developing energy and power models tailored to ASEAN languages and real-world applications. This effort addresses a critical barrier in cross-border technical exchanges: language. To further bridge this gap, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has developed an AI-powered translation platform backed by a specialized database containing terminology for more than 1,800 types of power equipment. The platform supports accurate translation between Chinese and English, Chinese and Lao, and Chinese and Vietnamese.
Talent development is another pillar of the cooperation. The China-ASEAN Institute of Energy, jointly established by Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and Guangxi University, is exploring an industry-university training model with a strong emphasis on practical experience. So far, two cohorts totaling 53 students from ASEAN countries have enrolled. Cooperation is also evolving from one-way training toward joint innovation. Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Cambodia have jointly established a laboratory for artificial intelligence and safety equipment, while the company has launched peer-to-peer exchanges with Electricité du Laos on improving power supply reliability.
At a recent training program for Chinese and overseas engineers, the AI translation system supported one-click generation of bilingual course materials and real-time speech translation, helping participants navigate highly specialized power-sector terminology. To support regular international exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has also established an international talent pool covering management, technical, and skilled personnel. It has developed 24 hours of courses on international affairs as well as 20 short-form video courses. "This year, we will also explore joint postgraduate programs with universities in ASEAN countries," said Sun Xiaohua, deputy director of the Human Resources Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd.
Looking ahead, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. plans to further advance a development model featuring "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, integration in Guangxi, and application in ASEAN." The company will continue expanding its multilingual power-sector corpora and explore a "Token Goes Global" model for power-sector AI, with computing resources and models based in Guangxi while knowledge services are delivered overseas. The effort is aimed at creating new forms of China-ASEAN energy cooperation and supporting the green development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0. For businesses and consumers in ASEAN, these initiatives could lead to more reliable and efficient power supplies, while also opening opportunities for collaboration in AI and green technology. The integration of advanced digital tools into energy infrastructure underscores the growing importance of technology in regional economic partnerships.
