Power firms go beyond call of duty

With summer on, many parts of China have been experiencing extremely high temperatures and even drought in recent months, hindering normal agricultural production and posing severe challenges to farmers.

To safeguard food security, the power supplier in Laiwu district of Jinan, East China's Shandong province, has ensured stable power supply for farm irrigation.

State Grid's Laiwu Power Supply Co said it has assembled 18 special teams and dispatched them to inspect electrical irrigation facilities across the district. Electrical load and temperature readings are taken twice daily to compile and analyze data so as to enhance operational efficiency.

Volunteers from the power supplier also regularly visit local farmlands to resolve sudden electrical hazards and guide the farmers to utilize electricity more safely.

The company said currently all the local power supply stations have staff members working in shifts to provide round-the-clock services, so as to respond promptly to farmers' requests.

"The traditional methods of irrigation are very tiring. Now we all utilize electrical irrigation facilities, which have made the job much simpler and greatly reduced our burden," said Gao Hongbo, a local villager.

"No matter what problem we encounter, we just call the power supplier and they will send someone over right away, even late at night," said Gao.

The company said it has opened "green channels" for irrigation system expansion projects, so as to accelerate the construction speed. The project operators can now obtain utility poles and transmission lines more conveniently.

Online communication channels such as WeChat groups have also been set up involving power supply stations and project operators to increase work efficiency.

According to the company, 14 new transformers and 9 kilometers of new 10-kilovolt transmission lines have been constructed so far across the district, giving sound support to farm irrigation.

The local government said agriculture is a major industry in Laiwu and the company's recent moves are expected to help secure a bumper harvest this year.

Similarly, to make sure the summer planting proceeds smoothly, Shangqiu in Central China's Henan province has advanced farm irrigation in all respects.

Workers from State Grid's Shangqiu Power Supply Co regularly carry out surveys across the city and identify potential hazards at key electrical facilities like well pumps.

Based on the needs of farmers, the workers concerned have installed a series of new utility poles, transformers and transmission lines, the company said.

"The weather is so hot, but the workers barely take a break even at noon. They solved a lot of severe problems that we had with irrigation, and we are so grateful to them," said a local villager.

Besides, the workers review their progress every day and update the inspection plan accordingly, so as to ensure a high work efficiency, the company said.

Hu Ludong, marketing director of the company, said Suiyang district alone in Shangqiu has already carried out 58 inspections on the electrical facilities, and the company will provide support for 1,500 more local households to utilize such facilities for irrigation.

Hu said 6.86 million yuan ($942,873) has been invested so far across the city for 56 new transformers; and 1,575 electrical hazards related to well pumps have been successfully eliminated.

The company said further efforts will be made to consolidate the existing achievements and ensure the stability of power supply. A long-term working mechanism will also be in place to better support farm irrigation.

Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said as effects of climate change continue to intensify, agricultural irrigation is playing an increasingly vital role in boosting farmers' incomes and safeguarding their livelihoods.

Zhou said if the country wants to ensure the proper operation of agricultural irrigation, as well as further increase its efficiency, efforts must be made to provide reliable power supplies and properly adjust them in accordance with the different growth stages of crops.

"Power supply companies in Laiwu district and Shangqiu have set a good example for us. Their moves have created favorable conditions for local farmers to grow crops and fight climate change," Zhou said.

He said the power suppliers could further contribute to agricultural production by reducing electricity prices in the sector and lowering production costs.

Meanwhile, in Tianchang, a county-level city of Chuzhou in Anhui province, farmers are busy drying and storing grain, as well as transporting it all over the country.

However, the ongoing hot weather has seriously disrupted the normal operation of the grain dryers, exhaust fans and other agricultural equipment.

Against such a backdrop, State Grid's Chuzhou Power Supply Co said it has further improved electrical maintenance with efforts like regular visits to clients and teaching sessions on how to measure the temperature of the equipment.

As a result, local farmers can properly deal with overheating issues concerning agricultural equipment, and use electricity more safely, said the company.

Efforts have also been made to understand the needs of clients, provide them with consulting services 24/7, and explain the latest electricity pricing policies to them, the company said.

Manor Lake Group, a Chuzhou-based firm focusing on processing and selling agricultural products, is one of the company's main clients.

Manor Lake said currently its grain drying, inspection, storage and security systems are all fully automated, and the major power source is gradually changing from diesel to electricity.

According to Manor Lake, the power supplier's recent moves not only help it achieve transformation smoothly and ensure safe production, but could also further advance agricultural modernization in Tianchang.

The company said it will continue to keep a close eye on the progress of grain drying in the city and cooperate with the local government to better serve local farmers.

As a major agricultural country, China has always attached great importance to safeguarding agricultural production amid extreme weather events.

Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, said the electricity consumed by agriculture accounts for a relatively small part of the country's total, so it is usually not difficult to ensure ample power supplies for the sector amid extreme weather events.

However, Lin said the power suppliers still need to adjust and balance the supply to different regions more flexibly, especially when there is an unexpected event, so as to strengthen the resilience of the power grid and better contribute to China's agricultural production.