The "Citywide Charging" project in Kunshan, Suzhou, has reached a new milestone with the launch of 92 charging piles across 10 locations, ensuring convenient, eco-friendly travel for residents during the holidays. This initiative represents the expansion and full-scale rollout of a pilot project — pioneered by the State Grid Suzhou Power Supply Company — that implements a "unified construction and service" model for EV charging facilities in temporary roadside parking spaces.

In recent years, the difficulty of charging electric vehicles has become an increasingly pressing issue for residents of older residential communities. Using Kunshan as a pilot site, Suzhou has pioneered a "unified construction and service" model. Under this framework, government departments provide overall coordination, the power supply company takes the lead, and an energy subsidiary of the Chuangkong Group handles unified construction and operation. By repurposing temporary roadside parking spaces for the installation of slow-charging piles, the city has managed to avoid occupying space within residential compounds, maximize the intensive use of public resources, and significantly lower charging costs for residents.

In April, Jiangsu Province's first roadside EV charging facility was established on Shitou Lane in the Huaqiao area of Kunshan. Fifteen 7kW slow-charging piles were installed to serve over 30 temporary parking spaces, effectively easing charging difficulties for residents in four older residential communities nearby, including Huaxi Xincun and Guangming Xincun. 

Over the past six months, usage of these pilot charging piles has steadily climbed; by September, they were facilitating an average of 23.27 charging sessions per day, with a daily energy throughput of 347.67 kWh — increases of approximately 106.5 percent and 112.1 percent, respectively, compared to when the facilities first went into operation.

The success of the pilot project on Shitou Lane has provided valuable experience for the broader rollout across Kunshan. To further support eco-friendly travel, the State Grid Suzhou Power Supply Company is now extending these accessible, resident-focused charging services to additional districts and towns throughout the city. In collaboration with the Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, the Development and Reform Commission, the energy subsidiary of Chuangkong Group, and the Transportation Development Group — alongside support from local townships, urban management authorities, and community organizations — the company has expanded its "Citywide Charging" initiative. Utilizing a smart site-selection system based on a "unified power grid map," the project now encompasses 107 charging piles across 11 locations, serving 194 curbside parking spaces. These sites are distributed throughout various townships and zones, including Huaqiao, Qiandeng, Lujia, the High-tech Zone, Zhoushi, the Development Zone, and Dianshanhu.

To minimize disruption to municipal traffic, the project team employed a parallel, overlapping workflow — coordinating everything from civil engineering and power grid connection to contract signing and equipment installation. By implementing a "day-and-night" shift rotation, the team efficiently completed cable laying, meter installation, and power activation. Equipment was installed immediately upon arrival and commissioned right after installation, effectively compressing the construction timeline. During the National Day holiday, the team worked systematically across all sites, ensuring that by October 5, the entire network would be fully operational.