[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
As autumn winds blow, the scent of ripening rice fills the air. In Shiliang town, Tianchang city, Anhui province, one looks out upon golden rice fields, with a striking touch of electric yellow on the country roads. On Oct 21, staff members from the State Grid Chuzhou Power Supply Company conducted live replacement of the sectioning switch at pole 002# on the 10 kilovolt Shiliang town 163 road, via the seventh road branch line, at the 110 kV Wogong Substation. The operation aimed to intelligently upgrade and transform the line, enhancing its "self-healing" capabilities and power supply reliability, thereby ensuring adequate electricity supply for the autumn harvest.
In recent years, as the rural economy continued to develop and the rural power grid infrastructure has been steadily enhanced, higher standards for power supply quality have been introduced. The State Grid Chuzhou Power Supply Company, closely centered on digital transformation, has upgraded the automation of lines within its jurisdiction, expedited the development of an intelligent distribution network, and empowered a better life through the provision of adequate electricity.
On the morning of upgrade works, the live line operation team arrived at the operation site early under the gentle sunshine. After implementing safety measures, two groups of workers, dressed in insulating shawls, slowly lifted off on the insulated bucket truck. They cooperated seamlessly and methodically, carrying out tasks such as electricity inspection, insulation shielding and isolation, removing old switches and hoisting intelligent switches. After four hours of uninterrupted work, the task was successfully completed.
"When the line trips due to a fault, the intelligent switch will automatically disconnect, ensuring normal power supply at the front end of the line. The rear interconnection switch will automatically close to ensure power supply at the back end. It can also accurately locate and isolate the fault section, which is helpful for emergency repair personnel to quickly judge and restore power supply in the non-fault section. Now it is the critical period of autumn harvest, and the transformation and upgrading of the line can also ensure reliable power consumption for farmers to a certain extent." Zheng Xunren, the leader of the live line work team, talked about the advantages of the intelligent switch after it was put into operation.
It is understood that, in order to establish a modern smart distribution network, the company installed 140 smart switches in 2024 based on the actual power grid construction, essentially completing a 10kV distribution automation network. The company will also leverage the benefits of live line operation to avoid maintenance outages and ensure uninterrupted power supply, effectively addressing the "autumn harvest challenge" faced by many users, and assisting farmers in achieving worry-free electricity supply for agricultural production with high-quality uninterrupted service.