Pengyang, Ningxia: Reliable power safeguards mountain grain drying

October has brought the autumn harvest to Caomiao township in Pengyang county, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, with corn and potatoes coming in and grain drying running at full stretch. The Caomiao Power Supply Station of State Grid Pengyang County Power Supply Company has sent staff into villages and workshops to keep that work checked, making sure farmers get the electricity they need to dry and process their grain.

Caomiao sits in the loess hills, where villages are scattered and small plots of land are fragmented. Once the grain is harvested, damp or rainy weather can quickly leave it moldy, so many farmers rely on drying equipment to speed up dehydration — which puts a premium on a continuous, stable supply of electricity.

Ahead of the harvest peak, the station drew up a list of the drying workshops and large grain processors in its service area and ran a dedicated round of safety inspections. Staff went into drying rooms to inspect distribution cabinets, motor wiring and residual-current protection devices, tightened loose terminals, and looked in particular for aging lines and informal wiring. On site, they showed farmers how to operate the drying equipment properly.

The 10-kilovolt distribution lines serving these mountain villages run through ravines, gullies and woodland. During the harvest season, piled-up straw and growing trees can encroach on line corridors. The station's field team has stepped up patrols, focusing on poles and towers near farmland and clearing obstructions from the corridors. It has removed tree-related risks and cut the chance of line trips at source, keeping intact the "lifeline" of power supply for the autumn harvest.

While checking equipment, staff used breaks between farm tasks to talk about the safe use of electricity. They told villagers that straw must never be stacked under power lines, and went over the precautions for operating farm machinery near power lines.

They also walked farmers through the SGCC Online app for checking electricity bills and reporting faults online, and left their grid managers' phone numbers so households can call at any time to ask questions or report a problem.

"What worried us most in past autumns was rainy weather," said a local large-scale grain processor. "Corn that doesn't dry in time goes moldy. Now the power supply station comes to check our equipment and the power supply for drying holds steady — we bring the grain in with far greater peace of mind."
Through the harvest season, the station has tightened its duty roster and emergency repair arrangements. Repair crews and spare parts are on standby around the clock, so faults affecting production are dealt with quickly and power supply to farms stays on.

Going forward, the station will keep maintaining equipment used in agriculture, stay on top of the final stage of the autumn harvest, and visit its farming customers regularly to catch and clear electricity problems early, keeping dependable power supply to fields and workshops through the season.