Photo: Courtesy of State Grid Bortala Power Supply Company

 To further enhance the continuous power supply capacity of the large power grid and improve the power supply reliability from 220 kV Huanggong Substation in Jinghe county, Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture to Jilintai Hydropower Station in Yili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, on August 16, staff members of State Grid Bortala Power Supply Company went to 220 kV Huanglin Line I and Line II to carry out inspection of the operation status of mountainous area lines and maintenance of pole number plates.

220 kV Huanglin Line I and Line II were put into operation in 2003 and 2005 respectively. They are important connecting lines between the power grid of Bortala Prefecture and the main power grid of Xinjiang region. Due to the complex terrain and high altitude, inspection is difficult. The inspectors adopted the traditional foot patrol inspection method and conducted a one-by-one inspection of foundation burial, tower material deformation, foundation scouring, geological cracks, ground clearance, and the integrity of pole number plates.

As an important sign of transmission lines, the pole number plate is the "identity card" of power lines. It not only shows the name and direction of the line but also undertakes the role of safety warning. Due to long-term sunlight and long-term rain washing, the color marks and fonts on most tower identification signs are blurred. Some are not firmly installed and get lost, bringing a lot of inconvenience to inspection work. For the pole number plates found to be faded, damaged, or missing, operation and maintenance personnel immediately carry out maintenance and replacement. 

"After replacing the pole number plates, we will continue to investigate potential line hazards and defects to ensure zero hazards and zero defects in power supply. In the later stage, the 'manual + drone' method will be used to increase the intensity of line inspection." said Liang Wei, the person in charge of the transmission maintenance class of State Grid Bortala Power Supply Company.

It is understood that the company has strengthened the inspection of the operation status of mountainous area lines of 220 kV Huanglin Line and the maintenance of pole number plates. A total of 168 mountainous area towers have been inspected and 295 pole number plates have been maintained.