State Grid Lingcheng safeguards a bountiful harvest in the countryside

As autumn settles over Lingcheng district in Dezhou city, Shandong province, nearly one million mu (66,600 hectares) of farmland is entering the final stage of grain harvest, while local fruit and vegetable growers bring in a plentiful harvest. To keep pace with the busiest weeks of the season, State Grid Dezhou Lingcheng District Power Supply Company has stepped up its rural power supply services, supporting farmers to harvest their crops with reliable electricity supply and responsive service, and helping local specialty agriculture grow more productive and efficient.

About 10 kilometers from the district seat, Bianlin town has converted 33,000 mu of farmland into high-standard farmland. The corn there is entering the grain-filling stage — a decisive period for kernel plumpness and ultimately for autumn yield — and irrigation across the fields is in full swing. This year, local grower Li Lianjun installed a fixed drip irrigation system across his 149 mu of farmland, paired with an integrated water-and-fertilizer system that applies fertilizers while dripping water straight to the roots. The equipment can lift average yield by more than 50 kilograms per mu of land, but it also makes the farm far more dependent on a steady power supply.

After learning of this, staff from the company's Bianlin town power supply station visited the farm and inspected the equipment's electricity load on site. They carried out a dedicated hazard inspection of nearby field transformers, the power lines serving motor-pumped wells, and distribution boxes; verified the supply capacity of the local transformer area; and cleared on the spot whatever problems they found. They also opened a fast-track channel for electricity supply requests during the busy farming season, keeping the drip irrigation lines and integrated water-and-fertilizer machines running without interruption.

"At the grain-filling stage, the crop cannot spare a single drop of water, and the water-and-fertilizer machine is useless without electricity," said Li Lianjun. "The power supply station came out ahead of time and went over every line, so the equipment now runs reliably. That gives us real confidence going into the harvest."

For the autumn harvest, the station has put an emergency duty system in place for the busy farming season, stocked six categories of commonly used repair materials, and handled fault repairs around the clock — building its line of defense for electrical safety on fast detection, prompt repair, and swift restoration of power.

Alongside its work to help farmers keep their grain output steady and rising, the company also focuses on power supply for local fruit and vegetable businesses, backing the growth of diverse rural industries. Since early autumn, Dexuan Modern Industrial Park in Bianlin town has been at its busiest season, with picking, sorting, and processing of vegetables and fruits all running at full pace. Jointly developed by the villages of Dongyujia, Xiyujia, and Guozhuang, the park covers 2,000 mu of land and holds more than 320 standardized greenhouses plus one intelligent greenhouse. It combines fruit and vegetable cultivation with leisure tourism and study tours; and through unified planning and pooled resources, it has scaled up into intensive agricultural production, creating local jobs and steadily raising villagers' incomes.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables are being picked batch after batch, while seasonal fruits such as grapes, peaches, and pears reach the market in volume. With sorting, packaging, and cold-chain equipment all in operation, the park's overall electricity load keeps climbing. Since it has no dedicated transformer, all its production power comes from village-level public distribution transformers — relatively weak facilities, with scattered load points and uneven demand. Serving it well calls for precise, fine-grained power supply service.

Drawing on the park's actual consumption profile, the company has developed a dedicated supply guarantee plan and tracks load changes in the transformer area in real time. Staff carry out regular temperature checks and patrols on the temperature control systems of the smart greenhouses and the distribution facilities at processing sites, and run comprehensive inspections to clear safety hazards along the lines. They also advise the park on site about shifting loads away from peak hours and balancing demand across circuits, easing pressure on the local grid.

During this September's fruit and vegetable harvest peak, staff on a routine patrol found signs of overheating in the wiring of a distribution box inside the park. They went to the site immediately, repaired the fault, and eliminated the risk to equipment operation, ensuring uninterrupted power for the harvesting and processing equipment as well as the smart greenhouse seedling systems.

The company also runs regular inspections of rural electricity use and visits households to explain the electricity policies available to them. By continuing to close gaps in rural industrial power supply and meeting the specific needs of specialty agriculture, it is providing stable, high-quality service that supports rural industries and helps villagers earn more.