Smart inspections make grid more stable

In the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, power technician Zhang Feiran sat in her office on May 1, gazing at the computer screen and pressing the execution button of a drone intelligent-inspection system.

At the 220 kilovolt Dongjin power substation a few kilometers away, a drone nesting inside the substation slowly took off, starting its remote intelligent inspection of the No 2 main transformer.

When the drone's AI intelligent inspection and diagnosis data showed the transformer was running normally, Zhang — from the substation operation and maintenance branch of State Grid Xiangyang Power Supply Co — was quite relieved.

She said: "Through the intelligent inspection, our substation operation and maintenance staff can monitor the real-time operation status of equipment, timely discovering potential problems and avoiding any safety hazards."

"In the past, we had to rely on time-consuming and labor-intensive manual inspection, and naked eyes could not detect everything, but now our Substation Remote Intelligent Inspection System has perfectly solved these issues," she added.

By the end of March this year, all 48 substations under State Grid Xiangyang had completed the installation and commissioning of drone nests, marking start of a "drone patrol era".

Zhang Yu, Zhang Feiran's colleague, stressed: "We are standing at a new starting point of intelligent inspection of our power facilities."

The nation's Government Work Report for this year, delivered during the annual two sessions in Beijing, has called for the development of new-generation intelligent terminals and smart manufacturing equipment.

Since the beginning of the year, as the city's data centers have rapidly expanded their server clusters to meet surging digitalization demand, power consumption jumped accordingly.

But Ma Decheng, project technical director of the city's data center, was unworried: "Due to the intelligent transformation of the city's power grid, the power supply is more stable, and a zero-interruption experience of our customers' data computing power is fully guaranteed."

The Fantasy Valley in Xiangyang has been enjoying a lively and extraordinary tourism feast ever since mid-April, when the flow of family trips and tailored tour packages increased significantly.

In order to meet the needs of visitors, the park has upgraded its night performances, and demand for electricity has been jumping accordingly. However, Feng Zhiwu, the park manager, has no worry at all.

He noted: "Thanks to the intelligent transformation of the power grid in Xiangyang, the stability of power supply has fully relieved us from any worries."

Zhang Yanyan, director of Jiangbei Central Control Station under State Grid Xiangyang, said: "Whether it is to cope with peak demand for electricity in busy tourism seasons, or to ensure the residents' rising daily power consumption, the new system can help largely upgrade the stability of power supply, providing a vital strong support for the city's tourism development and social benefit."

Wu Junlei, head of Dongjin high-speed railway traction station, was amazed: "A drone flying over Dongjin substation can complete a three-hour manual inspection task in 10 minutes, and even dirt on the power supply equipment can be identified. This is like equipping the high-speed railway with an engine that never cuts off power, and all we need to do is to focus on making each train come and go on time."

The benefits brought by the intelligent inspection on 48 substations were obvious, she said, noting that some 3,212 manual inspection trips and over 2,000 inspection hours can be saved each year.