Chongqing - Southwest China's Chongqing, known for its stunning night views and intense summer heat, has become a popular destination for both domestic and international visitors. 

However, as the city grows and attracts more people, one of its biggest challenges is ensuring a stable electricity supply to meet the demands of this bustling megacity.

The night view of Chongqing. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management)

In a recent interview with Zhang Mengni from the Lighting Management Division at the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management, Bridging News gained insight into how the city approaches its power and lighting infrastructure from a government perspective. 

Zhang highlighted that one of Chongqing’s most iconic lighting spots is where the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers meet, creating a stunning view. This river confluence has become a focal point of the city’s lighting strategy, with the government implementing LED lighting in the area early on.

Chongqing's lighting efforts extend beyond aesthetics, aiming to improve both the city's visual appeal and functionality. Zhang explained that their approach is to proactively address power and lighting issues from the beginning. 

For instance, when land is transferred for development, it is explicitly stated that developers must install street lamps, with a 100% installation rate required. This ensures that both landscape and functional lighting are integrated into the city's infrastructure at the earliest possible stage.

The project requires collaboration across multiple municipal departments. Zhang explained that the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources oversees planning, the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development manages construction, and the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management handles operations. This coordinated approach ensures effective governance and well-coordinated lighting and power systems

The lighting decoration for the Spring Festival. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management)

Maintaining a stable power supply in Chongqing, especially during the scorching summer months, presents significant challenges. In response, the city has invested heavily in optimizing its power grid.

Last summer, to enhance grid capacity and tackle power shortages, the State Grid Chongqing Electric Power Company launched 78 projects, including 323 kilometers of new transmission lines, four new substations, and a 1.68 million-kilovolt-ampere increase in substation capacity. These upgrades were completed before the peak summer demand, easing grid pressure and preventing blackouts.

Workers handled daily electric power maintenance. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management)

Chongqing has introduced innovative solutions to enhance power restoration speed and reliability. The city has implemented an advanced urban distribution network in the Changjiahui area, a key tourist hub. This system allows staff to transfer electrical load with a single click, restoring power in under two minutes. It essentially provides dual power supplies for quick recovery in case of a failure.

In addition, Chongqing has implemented a fully automated system for distributed feeders in its supply stations. This system continuously monitors real-time data from terminal equipment to analyze and isolate faults automatically, restoring power to areas unaffected by the outage. 

This technology enables rapid fault handling on-site, reducing the time it takes to restore power to affected areas to mere seconds. As a result, the city's power supply system has achieved world-class reliability, ensuring minimal disruption during power failures.