State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company: Empowering takeoff of Huaihai's pet economy

Staff from the marketing department of State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company recently visited Jiangsu Suchong Pet Food Co to conduct a special electricity safety inspection on five automated pet canned food production lines scheduled to begin operation soon. The inspection ensured the normal operation of distribution equipment and automatic devices, securing the final checkpoint before production launch.

As a major 2024 industrial project in Jiangsu province, the Jiangsu Suchong Pet Food project represents a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan ($183 million). It focuses on the R&D and production of high-end pet food, aiming for an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons and an annual output value exceeding 4 billion yuan. From project initiation to power connection and operation, State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company established a "Major Project Service Task Force" to provide robust power support for the project's construction. Addressing the stringent power quality requirements of core production processes like micro-pulverization, high-temperature puffing, and low-temperature freeze-drying, the company proactively coordinated the power usage plan. It constructed two new 10-kilovolt lines totaling 8.5 kilometers and built a supporting intelligent switching station, fully meeting the high-end pet food processing demands for power supply reliability and voltage stability.

During line construction, as the route passing through a strawberry plantation in Gangtou town required complex coordination, the company adopted an innovative government-enterprise collaboration model supported by smart surveying, ensuring construction progress while protecting farmers' interests. A joint task force was formed with the Gangtou town government, bureau of natural resources and planning, village committee, and more. Using 3D aerial survey modeling technology, three alternative route plans were compared and selected within 72 hours. The final plan, involving erecting five utility poles and laying 200 meters of line to reroute the path, successfully avoided the core strawberry greenhouse area while maintaining safe line clearance. During construction, the company stationed safety supervisors weekly to oversee key steps like cable laying. Line erection was completed in just 12 days, three days ahead of schedule, missing the peak strawberry harvesting season and achieving a "win-win" for both project construction and farmer interests.

Power connection is not the end of service. Considering the characteristics of high electricity costs and strict environmental requirements for food processing enterprises, State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company also customized a "Green Power Empowerment" solution for the Suchong project. Utilizing 26,000 square meters of factory roof space, a 2.95-megawatt distributed photovoltaic system was built. After grid connection in May this year, it is expected to generate 1.8 million kilowatt-hours annually. A simultaneously established "Green Power Consumption Monitoring Platform" displays in real-time the match between photovoltaic output and plant load, guiding the company to schedule high-energy-consumption, low-temperature freeze-drying processes during the daily peak sunshine hours from 10:00 to 15:00. This not only reduces the company's electricity costs but also labels its pet food with "green production", adding an environmental advantage in market competition.

"From project application to the green power transition, the power supply company provided end-to-end concierge services, both reducing costs and enhancing efficiency!" said Feng Zhigang, general manager of Suchong, who repeatedly thanked Ma Run for coming to offer advice on capacity expansion. He said that upon reaching full capacity in the second phase, Suchong is expected to become the largest single-site pet food production base in East China, fully supporting Xuzhou's goal of building a pet industry cluster in the Huaihai Economic Zone.