[June 2007] The State Grid Corporation of China has engaged PB Power, working in partnership with energy supplier EDF Energy, to provide consultancy services that will help shape the future of power supplies in Nanjing and throughout the whole country.

Nanjing, located on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has a population of nearly six million and is the capital of Jiangsu Province, one of the most developed provinces in China. When faced with an increasing demand for power of around 10% per annum, the State Grid Corporation, despite its wealth of engineering knowledge, decided to learn as much as possible from international experience and selected its consultants accordingly.

PB Power and EDF Energy will produce a series of reports detailing how the rapidly expanding city of Nanjing should plan for the future growth in electricity demand. They will also provide training for Chinese engineers both in China and the UK. The training and the reports will showcase best practice for planning and operating power distribution networks in densely populated cities.

PB Power has already performed a review of the present operating arrangements of the power network in Nanjing and is working closely with the local power distributor, the Nanjing Power Supply Company. Specialists from PB Power have provided training to Chinese engineers, selected from several Chinese companies, on how power distribution systems are planned in the West. In the next few months some 60 Chinese engineers, including senior managers, will attend PO Power offices in the UK for further training. They will also visit key EDF sites in London and Paris to gain first-hand experience of how the company runs its networks.

The Chinese engineers are keen to find out more about Western planning standards and procedures, distribution automation, underground substations and cable tunnelling, with specific reference to application in densely populated cities.

Mike Allison, PB Power's project director, said: 'We will be providing our Chinese visitors with new insights and perspectives to assist them with planning their distribution systems not only in Nanjing but in other provincial capitals and major cities throughout China.'

Work on the power consultancy reports was presented to the State Grid Corporation of China in October.

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