State Grid Taizhou Power Supply Company workers safeguard supply

Relentless high temperatures in Jiangsu province are testing both the secure and stable operation of the grid and the endurance and commitment of the people who build it. Guided by the principle "Power for the People", the State Grid Taizhou Power Supply Company has been protecting the lifeline of grid operation while accelerating key projects during the critical summer-peak period.

By 7 am on August 26, the mercury at the Huangqiao section of the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway (North Route) worksite had already climbed to 33 C. State Grid technician Ye Weihua donned a full insulating cloak and thick rubber gloves, climbed into the bucket of an insulated aerial lift truck, and began live-line work to relocate the 10 kV Qianyan 111 feeder that runs parallel to the high-speed rail corridor.

Serving as a pivotal node of the national "Eight Vertical & Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail grid, work on the Huangqiao section is advancing at full speed. To keep the overall schedule on track, roughly 25 km of 10 kV overhead lines must be relocated, with eight crossings of the rail corridor involved. Traditional outage-based construction would have blacked out large areas, severely disrupting residents and the project itself.

Instead, the construction contractor and the power utility adopted a "live-line work first, low-voltage generation for backup" strategy. Three 200 kW portable generators were synchronized with the network to carry customer load while, overhead, an insulated boom truck severed branch lines and shifted the main feeder. The switchover was completed with zero disruption to customers' everyday requirements.

Outstanding tasks on the Beijing–Shanghai (North Route) project include beam fabrication, beam erection and Huangqiao Station fabrication/erection works. Beam fabrication is scheduled for completion by the end of September, beam erection by the end of October, and ballastless track construction by around May 20 next year.