On December 12, the mountainous areas of Yichuan County in northern Shaanxi Province were gripped by harsh winter conditions. At around 8 a.m., Dang Hongsheng and Ying Xiaoyu, employees of the Yunyan Power Supply Station, trudged through sleet toward the Qiaojia distribution transformer supply zone on the west branch of the 35-kilovolt Ashifeng Substation’s 134 Yunyan Line.
“Slow down – hold on to me!” Dang called out as he grabbed Ying, who nearly lost his footing. With wind and snow lashing their faces, the two advanced step by step until they finally reached the zone halfway up the mountainside. Their fingers, numbed by the cold, tightened around a temperature-measuring device as they checked the transformer terminals and line insulators one by one. After confirming that all equipment was operating normally, they set off for the next inspection site.
Meanwhile, in the forested mountains of Magou Village in Jiyi Township, at the southernmost edge of Yichuan County, another inspection team was also battling wind and snow, moving forward with difficulty.
The mountain road leading to the 10-kilovolt 162 Jiyi Line had long been buried under snow, leaving Guo Hao and Wu Yuanjun from the Jiyi Power Supply Station to rely on each other as they advanced. “This line is the main power supply for Jiyi Township, serving eight administrative villages and more than 3,000 households, so there can be no room for negligence,” Guo said, gently brushing snowflakes off his notebook.
Upon arriving at their assigned site, the two quickly got to work, paying special attention to several poles and towers spanning the mountain valley. The biting wind carried snow that kept slipping down their collars. Wu smiled and patted his shoulders, joking, “Every few steps, you have to ‘shake off the snow.’”
Similar scenes have taken place in Yingwang Township, Xinshihe Village, Hukou Town, and other places.
That day, the footprints of Yichuan’s power workers were imprinted in the snowy wilderness. They conducted on-foot inspections covering 18.26 kilometers, checked 306 power poles and towers, and identified and resolved eight potential hazards and fault repair requests. Though the wind and snow were unrelenting, and their footprints covered by fresh layers of snow, the inspection of routes proceeded steadily onward.
