On the afternoon of July 7, Professor Zhang Lin, Vice Dean of the Institute for Global Governance and Innovation at City University of Hong Kong, delivered an invited academic lecture entitled Happiness at Both Ends of the Cable: The Impact of Power Outages on Rural Household Well-being, at China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing) (CUMTB). The lecture was held at Meeting Room 318 of the university’s Comprehensive Building, which was chaired by Professor Fan Jingli, Vice Dean of the School of Energy and Mining Engineering. Attendees included Associate Professor Wang Bing, Party Secretary of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, along with over 40 faculty members and students from the School of Management of CUMTB, Beijing Wuzi University and other academic institutions.

During the lecture, Professor Zhang systematically expounded on the optimal allocation of power resources and infrastructure intervention in energy supply-side management. He pointed out that in response to the aging rural power grid facilities and high exposure to extreme weather in China, short-term power shortage governance should balance residential power supply guarantees against losses from enterprise power rationing, so as to maximize social welfare. For the long term, coordinated efforts are required to advance green technology transition, phase out traditional energy assets, and develop clean energy infrastructure

After the lecture, participants are engaged in an in-depth discussions with Professor Zhang on topics including cost-benefit measurement of rural power grid investment, regional differences in residential willingness to pay, and grid integration of distributed new energy resources. Professor Zhang addressed the questions by drawing on practical experiences from different countries and regions.

As part of the "Voice of Mining" Academic Forum series, this activity provides a high-level international academic exchange platform for faculty and students of the school. It further broadens their academic horizons in the fields of energy transition and sustainable development, and facilitates interdisciplinary research and collaboration.