Journalist's view | Guangdong's power load hits new highs four times this year: What's behind It?

The power load of Guangdong's power grid has hit a new historical high for the fourth time this year! According to the latest data provided by the Guangdong Power Grid Company of the Southern Power Grid, at 16:46 on July 24, the power load of the Guangdong power grid reached 152 million kilowatts, making it the first provincial power grid in the country to break the 150 million kilowatt mark. Currently, the Guangdong power grid system is operating smoothly. In addition to six cities in the Bay Area, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, ten other cities in eastern, western, and northern Guangdong, such as Shantou, Chaozhou, and Heyuan, also set new records on the same day. What are the reasons behind this?

Typhoon + Heatwave Drive Power Load to New Highs

Affected by the subsiding airflow on the periphery of Typhoon Gaemi, the third typhoon of the year, high temperatures intensified in central and northern Guangdong and the eastern regions from July 24 to 25, with maximum temperatures reaching 35°C to 37°C, and localized areas exceeding 38°C.

Data shows that in Guangdong, when the temperature exceeds 35°C, each additional degree Celsius can increase the load by 3 to 5 million kilowatts. According to the Power Dispatch Control Center of the Guangdong Power Grid Company, since July this year, Guangdong's power load has continuously remained above 135 million kilowatts for 21 days. In addition to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Jiangmen, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, and Huizhou in the Bay Area, the power loads in ten other cities, including Yunfu, Zhanjiang, Qingyuan, Meizhou, Jieyang, Shanwei, Shaoguan, Heyuan, Shantou, and Chaozhou, have also broken historical records.

It is also worth noting that in the first half of this year, Guangdong's electricity consumption reached 413.4 billion kilowatt-hours, ranking first in the country in terms of the scale of electricity consumption; among them, the "three new" industries, represented by new industries, new business forms and new modes, saw a year-on-year increase of more than 30% in the amount of electricity consumed.

To ensure stable and orderly power supply, the Guangdong Power Grid will continue to monitor the development of typhoons, refine power load forecasts, fully leverage the resource optimization platform of the Southern Power Grid, coordinate and ensure the level of power transmission to Guangdong, accelerate the construction of eight key power grid projects and power transmission projects, and actively serve the scheduled commissioning of 5.76 million kilowatts of backbone power sources and 8 million kilowatts of new energy.

AI Dispatchers Online: Smarter Load Forecasting

The reporter noticed that innovative technology is playing an increasingly important role in ensuring power supply. According to the Power Dispatch Control Center of the Guangdong Power Grid, during high-temperature weather, the AI load forecasting system can calculate the power load trends for the entire province and various cities in Guangdong based on the temperature change trends for the next three days, providing reliable power forecasting data and supply assurance analysis.

Currently, the integrated AI load forecasting system of the Guangdong Power Grid Company has incorporated smart decision-making functions such as weather forecasting, distributed photovoltaic prediction, and energy storage characteristic analysis, achieving a load forecasting accuracy target of 97.6%. This system is leading in the Southern Power Grid and provides strong technical support for ensuring the safe and stable operation of the power grid during critical periods such as peak summer loads and typhoon and flood prevention.

In Shantou, which set a new power load record, the large screen at the Power Dispatch Control Center of the Guangdong Shantou Power Supply Bureau of the Southern Power Grid is continuously updating the power load data in real-time. Staff closely monitor various data, checking line load conditions and equipment anomaly alarms, and promptly optimize and adjust corresponding strategies and measures. During this period, the use of AI "virtual dispatchers" allows for the simultaneous full-process hosting and execution of multiple tasks. This autonomous cruise technology has passed evaluations and reached an internationally advanced level.