Upgraded Power Connection Services Prove a Boon for Getting Electricity

Since this year, State Grid has launched a new model of power connection service featuring facilitation, transparency, standardization, and normalization. All State Grid subsidiaries involved have acted on this model by bringing forth innovations in management, service, and technology. Getting access to electricity in State Grid’s service area is more convenient, time-saving, ready, and cost effective through coordination with the government, simplification of procedures, advanced technologies, and smart power supply solutions.

Government-Utility Synergy Offers Convenience to Customers

State Grid furthers the information connectivity with the government, which greatly simplifies the application procedures and accelerates administrative approval. As it stands, residents and enterprises can get electricity via face recognition and one license, respectively; administrative approval can be filed and received by one window that integrates all relevant functions; joint transfer and one-time settlement for “real estate + electricity meter” has been realized. Such services are being gradually promoted in various places.

On October 28, 2020, Deputy General Manager Du Liejiang of Zhejiang Xingwan Precision Medicine Industrial Park said to Customer Manager Yu Jiatao of Shaoxing Power Supply Company, that “Hardly have I submitted the project application through the government portal when you are on the doorstep.”

Through cooperation with the government, relevant subsidiaries of State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company launches a new service of joint transfer of electricity, water, and gas.

The first phase of the industrial park integrating R&D, office, experimentation and production involves an investment of CNY 830 million. On August 12, 2020, Du Liejiang submitted the project to Zhejiang government’s portal. That very day, Yu Jiatao got updated on the coded project through the power supply service platform. He said that since the launch of the new model of power connection service, Shaoxing Power Supply Company had served more than 2,650 enterprises in this way.

Data integration is essential for State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company to proactively provide power connection service. The company obtains real-time information of coded projects through the government’s portal and offers to meet their electricity demands. By doing so, customers are served at an earlier stage, even before their power application .

Thanks to the integration, State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company has put online electricity application, inquiry and payment on Zhejiang government’s portal and the "Zheliban" app, and sent relevant personnel to administrative service centers to facilitate customers’ access to electricity.

Visualized Grid Resources Allow Interaction with Customers

State Grid promotes the transparent and real-time sharing of grid resources and other information by integrating data from internal professional systems, allowing customers to choose appropriate power supply solution and connect to the nearby power grid. The company boosts intelligent interaction with the customers, field workers, and other personnel through applying new technology and promoting the app of "E-Assistants for Electricity Access".

In Shandong, customers now enjoy a new experience of getting electricity. On October 13, 2020, Customer Manager Wang Liqian of Zibo Power Supply Company, came to the project site upon receiving an electricity application from Zibo Hangyuan Medical Device Incubator Co., Ltd. Wang Liqiang showed his customer, Xu Wenzhe, the grid configuration and maximum capacity of the surrounding power grid through a mobile operation terminal.

It turned out that the load margin of the surrounding power grid could not meet the electricity demand of the project. Knowing this from Wang Liqiang, Zibo Power Supply Company evaluated regional grid resources, and extended grid to the customer. Xu Wenzhe was very satisfied with the solution: “We are grateful for the line, and it has saved us a lot of money!”

Staff of State Grid Shandong Chengwu Power Supply Company show service interfaces to the corporate customer through a mobile operation terminal.

Information of a substation is now visual to the customers, which helps them get a better understanding of the power connection and save cost.

Based on multiple internal systems and platforms such as the State Grid Online, marketing business system, and power distribution network construction control platform, State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company has developed and enabled 139 functions in 17 categories including grid resource visualization and online control of supporting projects. These facilitate the power connection procedure.

The company realizes online interaction with customers, account managers, and design and construction units through the “E-Assistant for Electricity Access”, supporting the trajectory management of services. It has built the “Transparent Service Supervision Cloud Platform”, and enables online monitoring of on-site investigation, project acceptance, and other services. It also monitors online the progress of supporting projects to ensure the performance of contracts. In addition, through the supply chain operation platform, the company has visualized the inventory for dynamic control, and project materials realized same-day intracity delivery and next-day cross-city delivery.

These measures ensure that customers can have access to electricity at their earliest convenience.

Matrix-based Management Accelerates Demand Response

State Grid has further integrated functions at primary level. Many subsidiaries now involve one function for simple business and a multifunctional team for complex business. State Grid Fujian Electric Power Company (hereinafter referred to as “Fujian Electric Power”) has refined their matrix-based services to greatly improve efficiency.

In the afternoon of October 28, 2020, Fujian Quanzhou Power Supply Company installed electrical equipment for a drink outlet named “Impression West Street” in Licheng District. The manager of the outlet said happily: “I applied for a capacity increase in the morning, and get electricity the same afternoon. How efficient!”　

Upon receiving the application that morning, Area Manager Hong Lingling of Quanzhou Power Supply Company immediately started the power connection process. The integrated service support team quickly started the on-site survey, contract signing, and other work, and delivered electricity in only half a day. Hong Lingling said: “If it were in the past, the whole process would have taken about three days.”

Fujian Electric Power provides matrix-based power supply services and visits corporate customers for electrical equipment maintenance.

Less time is required to get electricity, and this should be ascribed to the matrix-based power supply services and area (including transformer area) manager system introduced by Fujian Electric Power.

As its operation area covers districts, counties, sub-districts (townships), communities (villages), and other administrative regions, Fujian Electric Power divides its operation area into matrixes of three levels，which fall into the remit of urban power supply service centers, township power supply stations, and several public distribution and transformation stations, respectively. A matrix chief and several area managers are allocated for each third-level matrix. The chief is responsible for organizing area managers and professional teams to complete various tasks.

All levels of matrixes collaborate with each other. Fujian Electric Power conveys customer demands from the 95598 hotline and sends work orders on power connection to a third-level matrix area manager to follow through. Upper matrix personnel track and control the progress and quality of the work, achieving closed-loop management of order dispatching, implementation, and completion. As a result, the response efficiency and power supply services have been comprehensively improved. From January to October 2020, Fujian Electric Power reduced the average time of access to high- and low-voltage electricity by 15.47% and 27.85% year on year.

Full Control and Standardization Enhance Service Quality

The improvement in service quality and customer satisfaction is inseparable from the strict control and standardized service. State Grid has established a mechanism for closed-loop inspection, supervision, and evaluation of power connection so as to beef up synergy. The company regularly organizes third-party appraisal and self-assessment of performance on “getting electricity”, accelerating the implementation of relevant measures. A system that draws the line to regulate employees’ service behaviors is also devised.

On August 20, 2020, Wang Minmin, an employee of the Marketing Department of Jiangsu Shuyang County Power Supply Company, spoke highly of the color-coded early warning system embedded in the company’s visual management platform for power connection. The system indicates the time spent and responsible persons regarding all steps of such service, including application acceptance, feedback, construction, meter installation and power delivery, making it easier to track project progress.

Staff of State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company visit corporate customers for tailor-made electricity solutions

The color-coded early warning system links to the performance appraisal of teams and individuals involved. If the responsible team and individuals complete tasks within the specified period, a blue signal will be shown, otherwise a yellow warning signal will be shown. If the yellow warning is issued three times, then a red warning will be given, all of which are included in the monthly performance appraisal. Since the introduction of the system, Shuyang Power Supply Company has reduced the average time of access to high-voltage electricity to 17.87 working days, a decrease of more than 35%.

Since 2020, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company has been advancing the 10 tasks covering five aspects of power connection, including normal supervision. At present, it has established a visual platform monitoring connection of 10 kV and 20 kV or below, which can display the workflow for any selected area from application to completion, citing metrics like the required installation capacity.

To make the control more intelligent, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company has designed the intelligent control assistant to realize the ex-ante analysis and early warning about work order duration, material preparation, project construction, and power outage plan. 17 evaluation indicators from three dimensions of service quality, economic benefits and market development, including the increased sales of electricity per unit capacity, average distance of electricity connection and comprehensive energy service benefits, have been developed, making power connection faster and standardized.