Year-end summary of China Southern Power Grid’s digital transformation

China Energy Storage Network: With the rise of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, digital technologies such as the Internet, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence are changing with each passing day. The digital economy, which takes data resources as an important production factor and the digital transformation of all factors as an important driving force, is becoming an important engine for economic development. With the development of the digital economy, more and more companies are embarking on the road of digital transformation.

Why did China Southern Power Grid propose digital transformation?

At present, the fourth industrial revolution is penetrating into all fields of the economy and society, leading to rapid changes in production methods and business management models. The innovative technologies of the fourth industrial revolution will also be deeply applied to all aspects of the power system, which will have a profound impact on the optimization of power grid operation modes, the reengineering of enterprise management processes, and the transformation of enterprise organizational structures. China Southern Power Grid actively seized the historical opportunity, clearly put forward the requirements for the construction of "Digital Southern Power Grid", took digitalization as one of the company's development strategic paths, and accelerated the deployment of digital construction and transformation.

Meng Zhenping, Chairman and Party Secretary of China Southern Power Grid, said that the company should be transformed into a smart grid operator, energy industry value chain integrator, and energy ecosystem service provider to take the initiative in the fourth industrial revolution and industry transformation. We should unswervingly promote the company's digital transformation, promote the implementation of the company's strategy, promote the transformation of the company's development quality, efficiency, and power, strengthen, optimize, and expand state-owned capital, and build a world-class enterprise with global competitiveness.

Ideas and goals for digital transformation of China Southern Power Grid

The "Action Plan for Digital Transformation and Digital Southern Grid Construction (2019 Edition)" released by the State Grid Corporation of China proposes that digital transformation is the only way to realize the Digital Southern Grid, and clarifies the work ideas and transformation path.

By implementing the "4321" construction plan, namely, building four major business platforms, namely, power grid management platform, customer service platform, dispatching and operation platform, and enterprise-level operation and control platform, building three basic platforms, namely, the Southern Power Grid Cloud Platform, the Digital Power Grid and the Internet of Things, realizing two connections with the National Industrial Internet, the Digital Government and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area stakeholders, building and improving the company's unified data center, we will ultimately realize the digital Southern Power Grid with "full perception of power grid status, full online enterprise management, full control of operation data, new customer service experience, and win-win cooperation in energy development."

Goal for 2019: Initially complete the transformation from traditional information systems to a new generation of digital infrastructure platforms and Internet applications based on the China Southern Power Grid Cloud, and initially acquire the ability to provide internal and external services.

Goal for 2020: To fully build a new generation of digital infrastructure platform and extensive Internet applications based on the Southern Power Grid Cloud, realize the interconnection of upstream and downstream of the energy industry chain, basically have the ability to support the company to carry out smart grid operations, energy value chain integration and energy ecological services, and initially build a digital Southern Power Grid.

Progress of China Southern Power Grid’s digital transformation in 2019

Major events in the digital transformation of China Southern Power Grid

1.22: At the 2019 work conference of China Southern Power Grid, Meng Zhenping, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee, upgraded digital transformation to the company's strategic level for the first time, and clearly proposed to use digitalization as one of the strategic paths to support the transformation of China Southern Power Grid into a "three-business" company.

May: China Southern Power Grid released the "Company Digital Transformation and Digital Southern Power Grid Construction Action Plan (2019 Edition)", planning to invest 8.5 billion yuan from 2019 to 2020 to initially build a digital Southern Power Grid. By 2025, the construction of a digital Southern Power Grid will be basically realized.

6.5: China Southern Power Grid Company optimized and adjusted the organizational structure of its headquarters, abolished the original Information Department, and established the Digitalization Department as the leading functional department for the digital transformation of the Southern Power Grid, responsible for the overall management and top-level design of the construction of the Digital Southern Power Grid.

7.12: As an important basic platform supporting the digital transformation of the Southern Power Grid and the construction of the Digital Southern Power Grid, the Southern Power Grid Cloud Platform was put into operation. This is the unified basic technology platform of the Southern Power Grid, which will effectively centrally control the resources of the entire network, optimize resource allocation, shorten the resource delivery cycle, and strongly support the rapid construction and iterative upgrade of various business scenario applications of the company, comprehensively improve the user experience, realize the deep integration of digital technology and business, and improve the efficiency and quality of the company's production, operation, and management.

7.22: On the basis of the original Dingxin Information Technology Co., Ltd., China Southern Power Grid integrated the Smart Grid Research Institute, Smart Electricity Consumption and Metering Technology Research Institute, Information and Communication Research Institute and other forces to establish China Southern Power Grid Digital Grid Research Institute Co., Ltd. as a digital R&D force of China Southern Power Grid.

12.30: The Internet customer service platform of China Southern Power Grid was launched at the Customer Service Center of Guangdong Power Grid, marking the official upgrade of the original Internet unified service platform to the Internet customer service platform. The Internet customer service platform is one of the four major business platforms for implementing the digital transformation strategy of China Southern Power Grid and supporting the transformation of China Southern Power Grid to "three businesses". It is also an important support for optimizing the power business environment and improving the efficiency of customers' power handling.

What are the specific results of the digital transformation of the State Grid Corporation of China?

Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau emphasizes product innovation in the process of digital transformation, and has incubated and spawned a series of smart products such as smart street lights, smart pipe corridors, smart power distribution rooms, integrated energy stations, and smart construction sites. The smart series industry chain has begun to take shape. On March 3, the country's first smart street light was put into pilot operation on Tianhe South Second Road in Guangzhou. Smart street lights integrate elements such as public security monitoring, traffic monitoring, and road signs along the road to help create a high-quality and safe public environment. At the same time, smart street lights also reserve standardized power supply and communication interfaces to provide basic guarantees for the layout of future 5G micro base stations.

On March 15, the Guangdong Zhuhai "Internet +" Smart Energy Demonstration Project of the Southern Power Grid passed the acceptance. This is the first "Internet +" smart energy pilot project in the country that has passed the acceptance of the National Energy Administration. It is the world's largest capacity, the most voltage levels, and the multi-terminal flexible DC distribution network project that uses many original independent innovation key technologies. The comprehensive energy operation service platform built integrates the core energy application business of the demonstration project, realizes the demonstration area's collaborative energy management, flexible access to new energy and energy storage, active response on the demand side, flexible multi-energy transactions, and energy Internet data sharing. The project realizes the interconnection and mutual assistance of power supply areas, promotes the friendly access of distributed renewable energy, improves the efficiency of power grid resource utilization and power quality, improves the overall energy efficiency of society, and effectively supports the innovative development of the energy Internet in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The ICT Joint Innovation Laboratory established by the Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau of the State Grid Corporation of China and Huawei focuses on solving the pain points and difficulties in the digital transformation of the power grid, expanding the application of domestic processors, Internet of Things and 5G communications in the power industry, and promoting the construction of a safe, reliable, green and efficient smart grid.

On September 3, the ICT Joint Innovation Laboratory released a number of incubation results: