Baoji converter station upgrades control system

Baoji, Shaanxi province, is upgrading its ±500-kilovolt converter station by replacing the aging direct-current control and protection system with domestically developed technology to improve operational reliability and strengthen technological independence.

The renovation, launched during a scheduled outage of both poles on Sept 20, is expected to continue until Dec 8. The station, which has been operating for 17 years, is a key starting point of the ±500-kV Deyang-Baoji DC transmission project, which supports power exchanges between Northwest and Southwest China.

The project involves 29 participating organizations and 703 workers. State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co Ultra High Voltage Company is coordinating the overhaul alongside the station's annual maintenance, with detailed scheduling and cross-team coordination to ensure safe and efficient operations.

The upgrade includes replacing 77 control cabinets, installing 94 new ones, renovating 222, and completely replacing 29. It will also upgrade 63 host computers, 2,136 circuit boards, and 147 measurement devices, and improve servers, communications networks, and other secondary systems.

The project is introducing a fully redundant, domestically developed valve control system based on Chinese-made chips, with an independent hardware architecture designed to improve reliability and allow valve control circuit boards to be replaced while the system remains online.

Once completed, the upgrade will equip the station with a new control and protection system, enhancing its ability to support reliable cross-regional power transmission.