The horn of "new infrastructure" was sounded, and UHV took the lead in "delivering homework"

——Interview with Zhong Zhiyi, Deputy Director of the UHV Construction Department of State Grid Corporation of China

The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting on March 4th, emphasizing the need to speed up the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G networks and data centers. In terms of the construction of ultra-high voltage, the highlight of the "new infrastructure", the State Grid Corporation of China invested 181.1 billion yuan in construction projects throughout the year, which can drive social investment of 360 billion yuan and an overall scale of 541.1 billion yuan, continuously releasing momentum in the overall operation of the economy and society.

In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, while continuing to go all out to prevent and control the epidemic, State Grid Corporation of China has resumed work and production in a scientific, orderly and full-scale manner. On April 2, State Grid Corporation of China held the first meeting of the "New Infrastructure" Leading Group, proposing to comprehensively accelerate the construction of key "New Infrastructure" projects, drive the development of the entire social industrial chain, shoulder great responsibilities, show new achievements, seize new opportunities, achieve new breakthroughs, and promote economic and social development and industrial quality improvement and revitalization.

Before March 5, the State Grid Corporation of China's UHV project had fully resumed work. What role does the resumption of UHV projects play in boosting confidence and stabilizing expectations? How will it drive the development of upstream and downstream industrial chains and related industries? What significance does it have for improving the ability to ensure power supply for people's livelihood and helping to fight poverty? Our reporter interviewed Zhong Zhiyi, deputy director of the UHV Construction Department of the State Grid Corporation of China, on these issues.

State Grid: After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the construction of UHV projects of State Grid Corporation of China was affected to some extent. What measures did State Grid Corporation of China take during this period?

Zhong Zhiyi: Scientific and technological research, engineering design and main equipment manufacturing are the key to controlling the quality and progress of UHV projects. After the Lunar New Year this year, the company immediately launched scientific research and design research using remote office and video conferencing, strongly promoted the resumption of work at the main equipment factory, and worked hard to minimize the impact of the epidemic on UHV projects.

At present, all UHV project sites have resumed work in a timely manner, and technical research on key UHV "bottleneck" technologies and improving the ability of DC to transmit new energy on a large scale has been fully launched; all 115 UHV main equipment and key material suppliers have resumed production, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality completion of large-scale construction and innovative development tasks throughout the year to make up for shortcomings.

State Grid: Among the 12 measures taken by State Grid Corporation of China to fully resume construction and promote the resumption of work and production of enterprises in response to the impact of the epidemic, it mentioned that it would actively promote the construction of key projects under construction. How is the resumption of work on UHV projects at present?

Zhong Zhiyi: In accordance with the requirements of "one improvement and six strengthening" put forward by the company's party committee, the company has made every effort to fight the epidemic and actively promote the resumption of work on the project. On February 11, the Gansu section of the Qinghai-Henan ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project was the first to resume work, firing the "first shot" in the battle to resume work on the UHV project. At present, eight ongoing projects, including the Qinghai-Henan, Ya'an-Jiangxi UHV DC projects, the Zhangbei flexible DC grid test demonstration project, the Zhangbei-Xiong'an, Zhumadian-Nanyang, Mengxi-Jinzhong, Changzhi Station Power Plant Transmission, and the Dongwu Station Expansion UHV AC Project, have all resumed work.

On February 28, the Shaanxi-Hubei ±800 kV UHV DC project officially started. With the gradual progress of work and production resumption, the Hubei section of the project started on March 30, marking the beginning of Hubei UHV project construction. At the same time, the company's landmark "Belt and Road" project, the Pakistan Merah DC project, continued to be constructed during the epidemic.

"State Grid": The intensive resumption of work on UHV projects will involve a large number of issues such as manpower, finances and materials. In order to ensure a safe and orderly resumption of work and adhere to both epidemic prevention and control and project construction, what safeguards has State Grid Corporation of China taken?

Zhong Zhiyi: UHV projects have high technical requirements and are difficult to build. With the intensive resumption of work on UHV projects, the number of people on site has reached about 35,000, distributed in more than 1,400 work sites in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country. Tens of thousands of people are working on thousands of work surfaces, and a single converter station has 400 to 1,000 people, showing the characteristics of "large dispersion and small concentration". The pressure on on-site epidemic prevention and construction safety is very high.

The company firmly controls the "three gates" (health check gate, job screening gate, and production safety gate), ensures the "three in place" (material supply guarantee in place, preventive measures in place, and supervision responsibility in place), and takes strong measures to control with a cautious attitude. First, build and operate a good on-site epidemic prevention system, and the key is "details". Formulate typical epidemic prevention plans for different operating scenarios, accurately control all personnel by shift, group, zone, and time from the source of construction organization, set up internal multi-level "firewalls", ensure the supply of epidemic prevention materials, and fully close the site to avoid the risk of all personnel being affected and isolated due to abnormal health.

Second, we pushed local governments to approve the resumption of work in a timely manner. The key is to be proactive. In response to the pressure on local governments to deal with the already severe epidemic prevention work brought by the return of a large number of workers, the company actively and proactively connected with them, strictly abided by the relevant requirements of local governments, implemented epidemic prevention plans with high standards, and actively promoted the resumption of work on site with the strong support of local governments.

The third is to strengthen the training and control of construction personnel, and the key is "reality". The company moved the personnel health check and job screening to the departure point. After arriving at the site, the 14-day quarantine observation system was strictly implemented. All on-site personnel have established health records and one card for each person. They have their body temperature measured more than twice a day under the supervision of the safety officer, and use two thermometers with the same principle to measure at the same time.

Fourth, ensure the funds needed for epidemic prevention and control. The required funds are included in the project costs, and insurance is purchased for all construction personnel during the epidemic prevention and control period, so that front-line construction units and personnel can take a "peace of mind pill".

State Grid: This year is the year for China to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. As one of the seven major areas of "new infrastructure", UHV indicates the main direction of economic and social development and industrial quality improvement and revitalization. The State Grid Corporation of China invested 181.1 billion yuan in UHV construction projects throughout the year. What role does this play in stabilizing social expectations and boosting confidence in development?

Zhong Zhiyi: UHV is a power transmission technology independently developed by China and leading the world. It is the "golden business card" of China's electric power industry. As the highlight of "new infrastructure", UHV has high technological content, large investment scale, good power transmission efficiency, long industrial chain, and strong driving force for upstream and downstream industries. Taking the Shaanxi-Hubei DC project as an example, the project involves hundreds of design, equipment manufacturing, construction, installation, and scientific research units, directly driving the equipment production scale of about 12 billion yuan and creating more than 40,000 jobs.

The company implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and immediately issued 12 measures to respond to the impact of the epidemic, fully resume construction, and promote the resumption of work and production of enterprises. The company took the resumption of work of nearly 100 billion yuan of UHV major projects as the leader, driving the resumption of work and production of upstream and downstream industrial chains such as electrical equipment, energy-consuming equipment, and raw materials, sending a positive signal to the entire industry. This has a significant role in stabilizing social expectations, supporting economic and social development, and boosting confidence in development. It has demonstrated the important role of the "six forces" of state-owned enterprises and the responsibility of "heavy equipment of a great country" with practical actions.