Farmers, biz in Zhejiang get power boost

In the prefecture-level city of Quzhou in East China's Zhejiang province, Weng Jianhong has no worries while raising bass in his home village of Fenghuangshan.

Earlier, Weng's family planned to establish a fish farm in the village at Hangbu town under Kecheng district, but it needed new power lines to meet electricity demand.

After getting to know Weng's situation, Lin Qigang, an employee of State Grid Quzhou Power Supply Co, assigned his colleagues to conduct an on-site survey, designing a new transformer layout plan for the village.

They set up more than 20 new utility poles, with three-phase power supply wiring, and erected a 400 kilovolt-ampere transformer to meet villagers' electricity needs.

"With the new transformer, our cultivation of bass is now fully guaranteed," said Weng, adding that he has signed some contracts with buyers in the prefecture-level city of Jiaxing in Zhejiang and received some advance payments from them.

"I also intend to open an on-site fish farm experience restaurant next year, allowing visitors a one-stop homestay," he said.

In the neighboring county-level city of Jiangshan under Quzhou, Lai Xueyun had a similar story while first opening her "Yunqi Camping" homestay.

Back in 2021, Lai took a fancy to the green mountains and hills of Xiaotangyuan, and decided to give up her business in the city before opening a high-end homestay by redecorating five idle adobe houses atop a lush mountain.

When Zheng Jian, a power supply employee from the Qingyang Power Supply Office under State Grid Quzhou unit, learned of the news, he immediately reached out to Lai, as he also hails from her village.

He advised Lai on her investment in the bed and breakfast, site selection and power access, as a homestay needs sufficient power supply.

"Three years earlier, Xiaotangyuan was a largely underutilized area and almost became a deserted 'barren mountain,' as local villagers moved out to pursue better lives amid the region's poverty-alleviation campaign," Lai said.

"It's not easy to run a high-end homestay in this almost 'isolated' mountain," she said, citing the initial power distribution shortfalls as one early impediment.

Although the homestay could be redecorated as "old as before", its modern facilities such as all-electric kitchens, air-conditioning, floor heating, warm water circulation and landscape lighting are now musts for discriminating tenants, resulting in growing electricity demand.

Preliminary calculations showed that total capacity of the homestay could reach more than 150 kilowatts, while the transformer in Neitangyuan only had a capacity of 100 kV-A, so it was imperative to install a new transformer, Lai said.

Qingyang Power Supply Station coordinated with the local government to aid the power renovation project, and applied for a 1.1 million yuan ($155,000) support to transform the power line, which extends for some 3.24 kilometers, Zheng said.

They also opened a green channel to reduce the construction timeframe, thus shortening the construction period from one year to just two months, he added.

Zheng and his team leader He Xiabing had played a key role in monitoring local power supply services, checking power equipment, conducting infrared temperature measurements, as well as supervising load monitoring.

Now, driving their yellow electric vehicle along winding roadways in the mountains dotted with verdant trees and bubbling brooks, Zheng said their efforts have paid off, as the "deserted "mountain has once again become a cool "paradise".

He said that all their tasks followed work arrangements made by Qingyang Power Supply Station, which has required each staff member to keep a "work diary" since 2013 to keep track of residents' power requirements.

Lai said her homestay has now become an online sensation, thanks to its lush mountain setting and rejuvenating natural environment.