State Grid Bozhou Power Supply's efforts boost area's energy reliability

In the Bozhou area of East China's Anhui province, the electricity load has been increasing year-on-year, which has led to the long-term high load and harsh electricity operating status. State Grid Bozhou Power Supply Company has solved this problem by using an anti-galloping device.

Galloping of power transmission lines is a dangerous phenomenon that may cause massive power outages and collapse of the transmission towers. Anti-galloping devices can improve the stability of the grid and save a great deal of time and money.

It is understood that currently, about 90 percent of power outages and temporary voltage disturbances in Bozhou occur in the power distribution network. From 2018 to 2023, the annual average fault rate of the company's power distribution network reached 4.6 times per hundred kilometers.

"After installing the anti-galloping device on the 10-kiloVolt power lines, the tripping rate of the lines decreased by 67.4 percent, a significant improvement of the power supply reliability," said Fan Lei, an employee of the State Grid Anhui Bozhou Power Supply.

The device uses lightweight and high-strength materials. By using the spacer bar installation standard to determine the installation position, it effectively reduces the risk of galloping. Faced with the first wave of cold weather after the Spring Festival in 2024, the average power outage time decreased by 36.85 percent compared to the previous year after the devices were installed.

Currently, State Grid Bozhou Power Supply has installed the devices on more than 1,000 old power distribution lines in the region, and will systematically promote the usage of the devices in the future.

Next, the company is researching an intelligent triangular spacer based on high-precision positioning of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System. Leveraging on the positioning information provided by the satellite system, they will obtain more useful spacer bar work data so as to improve work efficiency, reduce maintenance costs and effectively enhance the reliability of the power distribution lines.