Charging infrastructure of rural areas boosted by State Grid's efforts

To ensure a reliable charging service during the spring tourism season in the Changlin River Ancient Town Scenic Area of Feidong county, Anhui province, staff members from State Grid inspected the local charging station's equipment on March 19. That morning, they conducted safety checks on 10 charging piles.

Changlin River Ancient Town, located at the junction of the northeast shore of Chaohu Lake, is known for rich cultural landscapes and beautiful natural scenery. It serves as a hub region for the hotspots and homestays around Chaohu Lake. Every day, tourists from the urban area visit the town to see the nearby attractions, resulting in a strong demand for the recharging of new energy vehicles.

Hong Jing is such a visitor. She set off from the urban area of Hefei to her ancestral home, which is more than 40 kilometers away. She found the State Grid Changlin River charging station through a smart phone app and stopped there to recharge her car.

"Now there are more and more charging station sites, and through online payment and plug-and-play, it's very simple to get the car recharged. I plan to spend half an hour to charge 20 kilowatt-hours," Hong said. Her new energy vehicle has both AC and DC charging modes. With the maximum charging load reaching 56 kilowatts on the DC charging pile, the car battery can be charged to 90 percent in a very short time.

In September 2023, State Grid Anhui Power Supply completed Anhui's largest township rapid charging pile cluster in the Changlin River Ancient Town with 10 DC charging piles and a rated charging power of up to 120 kW. It is capable of simultaneously serving 20 new energy vehicles.

The local power supply company has been promoting the construction of charging piles in the Chaohu Lake area. They accelerated the planning and layout of charging pile groups in cultural and tourist hotspots, increased the coverage of public charging piles and provided a green channel to install private charging piles for new energy vehicle owners . Such efforts are offering a one-stop service including data review, on-site survey and equipment installation, which is constructive to support the publicity of new energy vehicles in rural areas.

"This year, we put into operation seven AC charging piles at the Guoguang Community Power Service Station in Qiaotouji town, while coordinating the construction and installation of charging piles in homestays, the Happy Forest spot and Lanshan Bay Wood Art Town, to ensure the charging needs of new energy vehicles," said Wu Xiangsheng, deputy director of the Changlin Central Power Supply Station of the State Grid Feidong Power Supply.

In recent years, with the development of the new energy vehicle industry in Hefei, a number of well-known domestic and foreign new energy vehicle brands have successively established complete vehicle manufacturing bases in Hefei, causing a wave of new energy vehicle consumption. With the growth of new energy vehicles, the local authorities have also increased the construction of charging facilities. Such efforts include the construction of new charging equipment in rural areas as well as establishment of five public charging station groups and 42 AC/DC charging piles.

Up to now, local public charging stations have provided charging services a total of 26,000 times. In the future, the local power supply company will continue to optimize the layout of charging infrastructure and expand the coverage of public charging stations, allowing new energy vehicles to be accepted in rural areas.