Empowering distribution networks with digital intelligence to fortify agricultural irrigation

To further enhance rural revitalization initiatives and ensure the "last mile" delivery of power supply services, the reconstruction and acceptance inspection of the irrigation and drainage station in Sanyuan village, Yongfeng town, Tianchang city, Chuzhou, Anhui province, was conducted on April 25. Staff members from the State Grid Anhui Chuzhou Electric Power Supply Company organized a training session for village committee members on the operation of irrigation equipment.

"In the past, the irrigation and drainage lines and equipment in our village were self-constructed and had fallen into disrepair over time, leading to constant issues during the busy farming seasons. Now, thanks to the unified upgrades, we've been relieved of a major headache," said Liu, a prominent grain farmer in Sanyuan village, with evident delight.

Advancing the transformation and upgrading of agricultural drainage and irrigation power facilities, as well as establishing a safety protection system for agricultural production electricity, constitutes crucial measures in supporting "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" while driving the Rural Revitalization strategy. Nevertheless, the construction standards for wiring installed by farmers after their agricultural drainage and irrigation meters are often subpar, giving rise to issues such as poor equipment quality, complex property rights, inadequate power management, and increased electrical hazards.

In recent years, State Grid Chuzhou Electric Power Supply Company has consistently utilized digital applications to monitor and analyze the electricity consumption status of farmers’ self-constructed agricultural drainage and irrigation systems. Targeted initiatives have been implemented for digital distribution network upgrades and maintenance, effectively addressing power supply quality issues faced by rural water users and enhancing the reliability of power supply.

Driven by digital intelligence, precise problem diagnosis is achieved. Leveraging data for power consumption monitoring and analysis, the company conducts multidimensional diagnoses on identified issues such as low voltage, heavy overloading, abnormal metering in transformer areas, and individual household voltage anomalies.

Centered on agricultural drainage line diagnoses and a problem database, the company updates and issues a negative equipment list monthly, organizes research and formulates rectification plans. For centralized drainage and irrigation areas, such as high-standard farmland, the company installs additional centralized pumping units and auxiliary power distribution facilities.

Additionally, distribution automation intelligent terminals (TTUs) are installed on distribution transformers to conduct 24/7 real-time monitoring of transformer operation status. These TTUs accurately collect and analyze power metering data in transformer areas, providing a solid foundation for power dispatching and operation and maintenance decisions.

Digital energy efficiency management aims to optimize power allocation. Leveraging the operation and control platform of the digital power supply station, load variations of distribution transformers in agricultural drainage line areas are monitored in real-time. This enables the company to predict issues such as three-phase power imbalance, irrational peak, flat and valley power consumption, substandard power factors, and excess capacity among farmers.

Subsequently, early warning work orders are issued, and measures such as wind transfer and valley filling, capacity evaluation, and adjustment combinations are implemented for farmland power consumption, facilitating farmers' farming activities. Furthermore, through the power consumption information acquisition system, staff members accurately analyze users' 96-point power consumption curves, achieving digitalized abnormal condition management.

Enhancing management efficiency through digital distribution network operation and maintenance. Leveraging the energy efficiency billing service of the State Grid's platform, one-on-one assistance is provided to users of large-scale irrigation and drainage stations for energy efficiency analysis.

By considering the existing power supply conditions and capabilities of the distribution network, users are guided to make reasonable choices regarding internal energy consumption modes, power facility capacities, site selections, and layouts, offering "tailor-made" electrification equipment replacement solutions. Additionally, the company also prepares transfer agreements for irrigation and drainage stations.

For stations with financial capacity and willingness to transfer, the village collective will undertake basic renovations of the irrigation and drainage power facilities, eliminate potential safety hazards, and subsequently transfer them to the company for management at no cost.

For stations with scattered power consumption points, lacking the ability for self-renovation and electricians, the company undertakes joint construction with various townships, signing "maintenance agency agreements". The local power supply stations will extend their service scope to cover agricultural irrigation and drainage line equipment, providing homogeneous services for public transformers.

After undergoing renovations, the rural agricultural power facilities in Tianchang, a city under the jurisdiction of Chuzhou, have undergone a complete transformation, resulting in a marked improvement in the environmental landscape. As of now, Tianchang has successfully handed over 11 eligible drainage and irrigation station areas, with 32 additional stations' lines and equipment being maintained by the power supply company. The average outage time for agricultural irrigation users within the jurisdiction has decreased by 28.21 percent, while the emergency repair time has been shortened by 31.44 percent. Within the rural power grid's distribution lines, there are now 190 fully automatic FA lines and 21 semi-automatic FA lines, marking a 30.87 percent increase in distribution automation coverage.