State Grid Shaanxi completed spring maintenance ahead of summer peak

State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Co carried out its 2026 spring maintenance campaign over 106 days, covering 8,928 grid tasks to shore up power system reliability ahead of peak summer electricity demand.

The overhaul ran from March 2 through June 15, with planned work on power assets rated at 10 kilovolts and above rising 5.9 percent from last year. Eighty priority summer-readiness projects advanced concurrently, among them the third 750 kV transmission corridor linking northern Shaanxi and Guanzhong, plus 750 kV supporting infrastructure for the Northern Shaanxi-Anhui ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage direct-current (UHVDC) line.

This year's spring maintenance brought concentrated operational and worksite hazards alongside an extended construction window. State Grid Shaanxi implemented end-to-end controls to protect worker safety, preserve inspection standards and maintain equipment integrity.

Several large UHV projects entered critical construction phases during the maintenance period. The Baotashan converter station for the Northern Shaanxi-Anhui UHVDC project underwent live AC system testing and DC equipment installation and commissioning. The Gansu-Zhejiang ±800 kV UHVDC line crossed 39 existing power circuits rated at 35 kV or higher.

The utility tracked weather warnings and adjusted work schedules to keep construction on track. It also coordinated infrastructure construction and technical renovation work, completing annual inspections of both poles of the Shaanxi-Wuhan UHVDC project. Annual maintenance covered 12 DC transmission lines passing through Shaanxi, including the ±800 kV Tianshan-Zhongzhou DC line and the ±800 kV Qilian-Shaoguan DC line. This work helped ensure grid equipment was in good operating condition to meet peak summer electricity demand.

New inspection technologies were deployed to lift overhaul efficiency. These included combined AC withstand voltage, ultrasonic and ultra-high-frequency partial discharge tests, load transfer schemes and live-line maintenance models driven by work orders. The firm expanded field use of insulated platforms and short insulating poles to improve intrinsic equipment safety.

Engineers ramped up equipment patrols, real-time monitoring and live testing during unusual operating conditions and severe weather. Lightning, wind and flood protection retrofits were carried out to boost disaster resilience for the summer peak.

Parallel work supported residential and agricultural power supply. Upgrades targeted rural feeders serving spring plowing and irrigation, aging residential blocks, dual power supplies for high-rise buildings and indirectly supplied housing estates.

State Grid Shaanxi pushed forward distributed solar PV projects across villages, built 35 kV modular substations and upgraded 10 kV tie lines to strengthen distribution network interconnection before the summer demand surge.