Zhengzhou, Henan: Reliable power supports vegetable seed breeding

In November, greenhouses at the vegetable science and technology demonstration base of the Zhengzhou Vegetable Research Institute were thick with greenery. Inside, a batch of leafy vegetable seedlings was coming on in an orderly fashion, part of the work that grows candidate varieties side by side, compares them and records their traits.

The base has been bringing its greenhouses into use one after another, and the electricity load has climbed with them. Both changes showed up in the electricity consumption data collection system of the State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company.

The power company staff came forward with targeted services and safety briefings on electricity use, working to keep supply steady through the most critical stretch for breeding better varieties.

"The base is in the middle of intensive seedling cultivation, and this is when power matters most in our breeding trials," said the manager of the base. "Seedlings are very sensitive to swings in temperature. Our ventilation, heating, irrigation, and fertilizing equipment have to run nonstop. If the power supply falters, the seedlings are easily damaged, and the selection work slows down."

Research into local vegetable and grain germplasm continues to move forward, and the number of intelligent greenhouses has grown steadily with it. That raises the bar for continuity and reliability of power supply.

The State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company has put such entities on its list of key supply-protection clients. Relying on the electricity consumption information collection system to monitor changes in electricity consumption, the company implements relevant power supply protection measures, and promptly addresses users' electricity-related requests.

The company also patrols and inspects, on a regular schedule, the external lines and transformer districts that it owns, looking for faults and clearing them before they reach the customer.

It runs regular briefings on electricity use in production, showing bases how to look after the distribution boxes and indoor wiring they own. Each side looks after the equipment that belongs to it, and together the company and the growers keep one line of defense for electrical safety.

Alongside that, the company is building a self-healing distribution network. The work has focused on two capabilities: isolating a section of line so that a fault stays contained, and backing up load from one line to another. Both are conditions that let a fault be handled quickly, and both underpin the reliability of power supply across the area.

Going forward, the State Grid Zhengzhou Power Supply Company will maintain its duty of securing supply and continue to provide steady, reliable power for vegetable and grain germplasm research. It aims to strengthen the local vegetable supply at its source, in the seed itself, and to support the growth of agriculture in the area.