In rural China, electricity is supplied through three channels: a county is connected to a national grid, or is supplied through local dispatch, or is self-supplied. Following this pattern, China implemented the "Brightness Programme" and the "County Hydropower Construction of National Rural Electrification", using small hydropower, wind and solar power generation for the electrification of rural areas. During the first stage (1949-1977), rural communities were the main investors in rural electrification efforts, during the second stage (1978-1997) the central, provincial and local governments all played fundamental roles, and during the third stage (since 1998) the central government is the main investor. In 1997 the government noted that rural electricity supply suffered from a number of problems.