Southwest China battles icy weather

Guangzhou (CNS) – Four provinces in the southern and southwestern parts of China are experiencing severe weather conditions due to the influence of a strong cold front that moved in on Thursday, causing the China Southern Power Grid in Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to issue an orange alert for freezing weather.

About 60 overhead power lines have iced up in Guizhou province, according to monitoring data released by the China Southern Power Grid. The same situation has also hit Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong, with ice reaching up to 24 millimeters in thickness in Yunnan.

To deal with the freezing weather and guarantee the transmission of electricity, the Guizhou Power Grid has put 2,381 maintenance workers on standby at 1,401 monitoring points. Liupanshui, a city in Guizhou, has taken measures for the first time which can melt ice on 110 kilovolt power lines in only half an hour.

The China Southern Power Grid has equipped 44 sets of ice-melting devices for 293 electric lines since 2008.