State Grid vows to bolster power supply reliability

State Grid Corp of China, the world's largest utility that is crucial to the country's economic lifeline, is vowing to improve high-quality services in a bid to bolster the reliability of its power supply.

While outlining the prioritized 10 aspects of work in 2025, State Grid President Pang Xiaogang called on power workers nationwide early this year to strengthen capacity building and improve high-quality services.

He said it is vital to vigorously improve power supply reliability, promote excellent power supply services and continuously optimize the electricity business environment.

To meet growing demand, power workers in Yingshang county of Fuyang in Anhui province are taking multi-pronged measures to better serve the local industrial development and rural vitalization.

Anhui Jintai Optical, Mechanical and Electrical Group Co Ltd is a joint venture established in January 2022 at Yingshang Economic Development Zone with a planned total investment of 3 billion yuan ($418.25 million).

Zhou Chang'an, deputy general manager of the company, said that since the fourth quarter of last year, its orders have jumped and it added four new production lines, leading to an urgent need for power expansion.

Upon receiving the expansion application, a service team from State Grid Fuyang Power Supply Co completed an on-site investigation and formulated a transformer expansion plan within 48 hours. It consequently completed the project on time.

"The successful completion of the expansion project greatly assisted the operation of our enterprise, ensuring the timely delivery of orders as well as stable operation of our plant," Zhou said.

Zhao Pucha, deputy leader of the government-enterprise service sector at State Grid Yingshang, said that his colleagues visited 245 enterprises early this year, adding a total of 43,200 kilovolt amperes of new capacity for them.

In addition, they plan to add four 10 kV supporting projects in the near future to fully guarantee stable power supply for local enterprises.

July is a peak harvest season for grapes. At Yinghui Eco-Grape Farm in Xiaqiao town in Yingshang, the air is thick with fragrant, plump clusters of grapes hanging heavy on the vines.

To guarantee uninterrupted power supply during the harvest, a service team from State Grid Yingshang visited the farm, assessing its electricity needs on site and providing full support for a bumper crop.

"We just found that some distribution boxes aren't sealed well and moisture has entered parts of the wiring," team member Zhu Zhidong told farm manager Zhang Wei, adding that "this creates risks of short circuits and electric shock."

He noted that they would fit protective covers on the wiring to keep the water out, and told Zhang not to attempt the repairs by themselves.

While expressing his thanks, Zhang stressed: "Stable power gives us greater confidence in this harvest and stronger conviction to expand smart cultivation."

He added that the vines looked excellent, and in just over half a month, the grapes would hit the market with a good harvest.

In 2024, Yingshang netted a GDP of 58.52 billion yuan, an annual increase of 6.4 percent, ranking first in Fuyang.

In terms of industries, the added value of the primary industry was 7.31 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 3.7 percent, while the added value of the secondary industry hit 20.31 billion yuan, an annual jump of 9.4 percent.

In joining the country's green drive, Yingshang set up 170 poverty-alleviation photovoltaic power stations with a total capacity of 64.215 megawatts.

While strong summer sunshine offers a golden period for photovoltaic power generation, high temperatures are also a severe test for the equipment.

In order to ensure the safe connection of green electricity to the grid and promote the healthy development of the photovoltaic industry, employees from State Grid Yingshang have assisted in the operation and maintenance of those stations, establishing an operation and maintenance mechanism.

Chen Jingyang, from the Gengpeng central power supply station, said they have visited five photovoltaic power plants recently, offering an "e-diagnosis" for them.

"Through the on-site visit, we have discovered and solved more than 20 problems, providing our professional technical services for them," he said.

In Yingshang's government work report in January this year, Cheng Xiaoxing, the county magistrate, promised to achieve a GDP growth of 6.2 percent this year.

He called for strengthening emerging industries, expanding the new energy vehicle industry, building a manufacturing base for electronic and chemical new materials in northern Anhui, and optimizing the high-end green food industry.

By relying on the county's national-level industrial cluster of small and medium-sized enterprises of optoelectronic devices, Yingshang can extend its "passive electronic component cluster "industrial chain, and support local enterprises to expand, he said.