According to an exclusive report by Jiemian News, State Grid has internally issued the "2026 Embodied Intelligence Development Plan," under which 8,500 embodied intelligence devices will be centrally procured throughout the year, with a total investment of 6.8 billion yuan. Among them, there will be 5,000 quadruped inspection robots, 500 humanoid live-working robots, and 3,000 dual-arm inspection robots. Procurement of these three categories combined amounts to 5.8 billion yuan, with the remaining 1.2 billion yuan allocated to technology R&D and talent development.

This is not a pilot program, but a systematic large-scale deployment.

Why the power industry? Because the power grid has pain points. Many substations are located in remote mountainous areas, making manual inspection costly and risky. The average annual cost of one inspector is 300,000 yuan, while the purchase price of one robot dog ranges from 500,000 to 1 million yuan. Once the cost drops to 600,000 to 700,000 yuan in the future, the economic viability will become clear.

According to State Grid's estimates, each device can save 500,000 to 800,000 yuan in labor costs annually, with a payback period of 2 to 3 years. More importantly, it can reduce exposure to high-risk operations by more than 90%.

And this is only the beginning. State Grid's fixed-asset investment during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is expected to reach 4 trillion yuan, up 40% from the "14th Five-Year Plan." The 6.8 billion yuan investment in embodied intelligence accounts for 8.75% of this year's intelligentization investment.

Jiemian News further pointed out in its report that if China Southern Power Grid and local energy groups follow suit, total investment in the power industry in 2026 is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.

Why power scenarios are suitable for robots to land first

What must first be made clear is that, apart from the dancing, martial arts, and running that everyone is familiar with, not all scenarios are suitable for embodied intelligence. For example, factory logistics are too chaotic and household services are too fragmented, whereas power inspection happens to have three characteristics that make it suitable for robot deployment: high standardization, high hazard level, and high labor cost.

According to reports, State Grid has already written this direction into its long-term plan. Embodied intelligence has been listed as one of the five major intelligent capabilities, covering six major areas: grid planning, operation, equipment management, work control, customer service, and business management, involving more than 600 specific scenarios.

In power scenarios, applying robots is no longer hindered by technology.

It is understood that by the end of 2025, State Grid Linyi Power Supply Company conducted validation at the 220 kV Xianggong Substation: the Jueying X30 quadruped robot and the Shanmao M20 wheeled-quadruped robot worked collaboratively, shortening the inspection cycle by two-thirds. Both robots can operate stably in environments ranging from -20° to 55°, with an IP67 protection rating.

More than that, some substations in Sichuan and the Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau in Guangdong have already completed a millisecond-level closed loop of "perception—decision—action."

These field tests have proven that, in the power industry, the technical conditions for large-scale deployment have already matured.

State Grid has also immediately provided a clear timetable. It requires the penetration rate in key areas to reach 30% in 2026, embodied intelligence equipment to cover more than 80% of high-risk operation scenarios in 2027, and deep integration with the digital-twin grid by 2030, completing autonomous operation and maintenance.

Yujian Energy believes that State Grid is not actually buying a batch of robot dogs to solve immediate problems, but rather positioning embodied intelligence as next-generation power grid infrastructure.

The 6.8 billion yuan purchase order has changed the rules of the industry chain

Yujian Energy found that in this Jiemian News report, this procurement also specifically mentioned a key requirement: power grid equipment must comply with the "Technical Specifications for Electric Power Embodied Intelligence Equipment," with priority given to suppliers that can deeply integrate with the "Guangming Power Large Model" and support localized deployment.

In other words, data security has been placed first.

This threshold has changed the rules of the game. In the past, robot companies competed on hardware performance; now they compete on integrated software-hardware capabilities and full-stack capabilities with an understanding of power grid scenarios.

Under these rules, DEEP Robotics is one of the biggest beneficiaries. As early as 2023, it signed a 5-year framework agreement worth 1 billion yuan with State Grid, covering more than 1,000 substations. Its market share in the power industry is as high as 85%. The Jueying X30 can operate continuously in extreme weather, and its payload capacity is sufficient to carry various testing devices.

But those star robot companies may not be the ones that truly reap the benefits.

For example, Xianheng International, a well-known established supplier, is a long-time supplier for State Grid's centralized procurement. It sold 28.88 million yuan worth of robot equipment last year, and in the first quarter of this year it has already begun winning robot orders from centrally administered state-owned enterprises.

Xianheng International's strategy is actually very clear: it does not build robots itself, but instead adds its own AI models and data capabilities onto DEEP Robotics' robot platform.

Shenhao Technology has taken a partnership route. In March 2025, it reached a strategic cooperation agreement with DEEP Robotics to launch customized solutions for the fields of power inspection and emergency firefighting. The company believes that in the next 1 to 2 years, wheeled, rail-mounted, and quadruped robots will still be the mainstream forms in the power industry.

This is a very pragmatic judgment. At a time when humanoid robots have become a hot concept, those that can truly be deployed on a large scale in the power grid are still the mature products that can be mass-produced and stand up to on-site verification.

State Grid's lead will drive follow-up across the entire energy industry

6.8 billion yuan is only the first shot.

Some industry insiders speculate that after China Southern Power Grid and local energy groups follow up, the total investment scale of embodied intelligence in the power industry in 2026 is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.

China Southern Power Grid has already taken action. In December 2025, the Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau in Guangdong deployed the world's first dual-arm collaborative inspection robot, "Qianyii," inside a substation. This robot can complete tasks such as switchgear inspection, button operation, and handle switching.

This is a rehearsal for procurement on a larger scale. The three major power grids and local energy enterprises have formed a highly homogeneous industrial ecosystem. Once State Grid verifies a new operation and maintenance model, other central energy SOEs will follow up in sync within a very short period of time.

Yujian Energy believes that there is an even deeper driving force here: the carbon peaking target and the need to build a new type of power system.

It is understood that by 2030, China's installed new energy capacity is expected to exceed 3 billion kilowatts, and the number of grid nodes will increase from hundreds of thousands to more than a million. The traditional manual inspection model will naturally be unable to cope with this exponential growth.

When 5,000 robot dogs shuttle between substations and mountain-area grids, and when 500 humanoid robots extend both arms in live distribution network operations, embodied intelligence will truly have moved from the stage into industrial settings.

Whoever can secure a position in the industry chain, and whose solution can best meet the power industry's standardized deployment needs, that will be the core issue in this procurement cycle worth more than 10 billion yuan over the next 3 years.

Yujian Energy will also continue to follow this transformation in the power industry.

      Original title : State Grid's billion-yuan procurement of robot dogs and humanoid robots fires the first shot for large-scale embodied intelligence deployment in the power industry