It engages in the investment, construction, operation and management of power generation assets and the production and sale of electricity.

[1][2] In 1993, the corporation was under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Power Industry [zh] and the State Planning Committee.

The company oversees the national government's interests in 10 subsidiaries, including a 51% stake in Huaneng Power International.

In addition to its power-generation business, the company enters other sectors, including energy-related mining, financing, transportation, information technology, and renewable energy researches.

In November 2008 CHNG bought 50 per cent stake in InterGen from India's GMR Group for $1.2 billion.

Major departments in the Beijing headquarter include: The Huaneng Group runs several subsidiaries corresponding to various types of energy industries.

In addition to Beijing headquarter, Huaneng Group also have branches and companies in at least 29 different provinces or autonomous regions of China.