Huangshi in Hubei Accelerates Rural Grid Automation Upgrades for More Reliable Power Supply

At 7:00 a.m. on August 26, utility workers on the ground near Pole No. 90 on the 10 kV Xindong Line in Gangyuanxia Village, Dajipu Town, Daye City, were inspecting a brand-new automated switch and other equipment in preparation for installation.

Rural power grid upgrade site

Distribution automation is an important means of improving power supply reliability. In recent days, Huangshi in Hubei Province has accelerated automation upgrades to its distribution network and steadily advanced rural power grid upgrade projects to improve power supply reliability in rural areas.

“In the past, when a line fault occurred, we had to inspect the line to locate the fault, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive,” said Zhu Hengdong, a technician at the Dajipu Power Supply Station of State Grid Huangshi Power Supply Company. “Once the automated switch is installed, the monitoring system will immediately receive a signal showing which section is affected, allowing us to pinpoint the fault area quickly. A task that used to take two or three hours will then take less than half as long.”

Live-line work on the distribution network

To prevent construction from disrupting the power supply, local power authorities have strengthened coordination of work plans. By expanding the use of live-line work to more operating scenarios and increasing the frequency of outage-free operations on the distribution network, they are working to ensure a reliable power supply during construction.

Zhu Shaohua, a live-line operator with State Grid Huangshi Power Supply Company, said: “To avoid disrupting the power supply, we routinely carry out complex bypass live-line work. It is like building a temporary ‘bridge’ for the line, rerouting the current through a bypass so that customers do not experience a power outage during the work.”

Since the beginning of this year, Huangshi power authorities have continued to implement initiatives aimed at achieving a 100% interconnection rate for distribution lines and 100% feeder automation coverage, thereby enhancing the distribution network’s operational flexibility and smart capabilities and giving customers a more reliable power supply and greater peace of mind. (Text and photos by Cao Xiangkui)