The State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company Boosts Reliability with Self-Healing Distribution Network

Recently, He Juntao, the head of secondary systems of Zhengdong Power Supply Company under the State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company, and Wang Puxi, the leader of the operations and maintenance team, visited a switching station in Longhu Finance, Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. They inspected the newly operational fiber-optic differential protection and self-healing system. This advanced system, utilizing fiber-optic communication technology, is one of the first of its kind to be practically deployed in Henan Province.

Staff inspect the operational status of the switching station's self-healing system

Photo by Luo Hao

Since the beginning of 2024, the State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company has focused on enhancing power supply reliability, striving to develop an advanced self-healing distribution network. This system establishes a solid foundation for integrating and utilizing renewable energy. Meanwhile, it plays a crucial role in facilitating Zhengzhou’s transition to a cleaner, low-carbon, and more efficient energy internet.

The self-healing system utilizes an industrial Ethernet switch-based fiber-optic networking approach, leveraging the low latency, high stability, and reliable operation of fiber optics in extreme weather conditions. By installing fiber-optic differential protection self-healing terminals at key nodes in the distribution network, it enables precise fault location, automatic isolation, and rapid power restoration for upstream and downstream sections. Accordingly, this reduces outage durations in non-fault sections to mere milliseconds, thereby significantly minimizing disruptions caused by faults.

By the end of 2024, Zhengzhou’s distribution network conducted 134 self-healing operations using the system, with an average duration of 59.6 seconds per event. This reduced the outage impact by 12,860 customer-hours and increased power supply by 230,000 kWh. Additionally, it improved power supply reliability by 0.01% and reduced the average outage duration per customer by 0.38 hours. These advancements significantly enhanced urban power reliability.