Shanghai's power grid to become smart by 2020

Shanghai’s power network within the inner ring road will become a smart grid by 2020 to bolster the city’s power supply, State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Co told Shanghai Daily today.

All of the city’s main power lines within the specified area will be remotely controlled by then and monitored in real time while power lines will be able to self-recover if they are damaged, said Fu Xiaofei, the company's vice director for grid operation and maintenance.

The company also unveiled 10 measures today to streamline procedures and enhance transparency as well as make it   easier for local companies to connect to the power grid. 

The measures will help cut procedures and administration time as well as to “enhance” power reliability by upgrading equipment and enhancing efficiency and supervision.

Such measures could cut around 30 percent of the time for companies to plug into the grid, as “while previously it needed over two weeks, we can now power up within eight working days after their request,” said Chen Yun, head of the grid’s business office at Tianshan Road.