Lhasa, capital of Tibet autonomous region, will no longer feel the bite of rolling blackouts in winter after a massive power line begins operating by the end of 2011.

The Qinghai-Tibet electricity power transmission line can provide sufficient power to the city of Lhasa by connecting electricity grids in central Tibet with grids in the rest of the country, Liu Xiaoming, general manager of Tibet Electric Power Company, said Thursday.

Lhasa will not endure rolling blackouts this winter, Liu said, adding that the 14-billion-yuan (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) power project was put into use one year ahead of schedule.

The electricity power transmission line runs from Lhasa to the capital city of neighboring Qinghai province, and has been dubbed the "heavenly road of electricity," a name mimicking the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Power shortages remain common as most electricity in Tibet is generated by hydropower, which dwindles in low-water seasons, according to local power authorities.

To tackle the power shortage, the Tibetan local government in recent years has launched a series of power projects, halted production in some mine fields and implemented regulations on capping electricity use.

About 500,000 residents in Tibet currently live without electric power, and local power suppliers plan to double the installed capacity of electric power by 2015, Liu said.