New monitoring device boosts grid safety in Zhenjiang

Staff members from State Grid Zhenjiang Power Supply Company used a new hard pressure plate monitoring device during an acceptance inspection of the No 1 main transformer at the 110 kV Tingzi Substation on May 8.

The device detected a false activation risk in the relay protection equipment, preventing potential protection failure and ensuring inspection quality.

Relay protection equipment acts as a reliable steward for the power grid, automatically disconnecting faulty sections when abnormalities occur. The new device makes the steward more reliable, especially at critical moments.

Protection equipment must be properly connected for the grid to remain stable. In older substations, aging or poor contact often causes pressure plates to appear closed when they are not actually connected. This leads to protection failure and inability to execute switching commands, posing a serious safety risk.

To solve this, State Grid Zhenjiang developed a monitoring device that senses induced voltage changes to detect true connection status, overcoming the limits of traditional visual checks. The play-and-play device installs without power outages and does not interfere with normal operation.

It also supports wireless transmission, allowing maintenance staff to monitor each device's status in real time via mobile phones. If a false activation occurs, the system immediately sends an alert.

Since its deployment, no missed detections from poor contact have occurred during inspections.

Accuracy has reached 100 percent, manual verification workload has dropped significantly, and overall efficiency has increased by 90 percent, enhancing grid safety and strengthening long-term stability.