In the sweltering depths of summer in Fenkou, in Chun'an county, Zhejiang province, while most people were still asleep, some power workers from State Grid Co had arrived in rugged terrain near Jiawu village by 5:30 am on Aug 5.

Temperatures in the provincial capital Hangzhou have been soaring to over 40 C, and local people's demand for electricity has continued to climb, so power workers are meeting their demand in an innovative way.

Staff members of Team One at the Live Working Project Department of State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Co were planning to upgrade the local rural grid by expanding the diameter of overhead power lines from 110 millimeters to 240 mm, thus elevating the lines' power supply capacity and boosting their reliability.

Fang Jingkang, a team member, said as people's demand for electricity rises, the company is making innovations to maintain power supplies as the team conducts installation and renovation work.

Though temperatures at 5:30 am were close to 30 C, they began their outdoor work installing sectional line switches and finished the expansion work in about two hours.

Previously, in installing 240 mm conductors, Fang and his team members had to cut off electricity to execute the task. But now they have made major breakthroughs in live-wire working technology, and successfully developed new live working tools and methods.

Fang said: "We have to work by wearing an insulating shawl every day, and it's normal for our clothes to get wet. As the power consumption is greater in the summer, we often have more work to do than usual."

Seeing that power upgrades had been completed, villager Wang Chunhua was grateful, saying: "Now is the critical period of rice irrigation, and our electricity consumption is great. With your innovative work, I am so relieved."

Jiang Zhichun, chief safety officer at the Live Working Project Department, said: "At present, we are in a leading position among State Grid in the technology of lapping lead combination tools for ground potential live-wire work. Power workers from Fujian province, Xizang autonomous region and Gansu province have come to visit us, trying to learn. For us electric power workers, 'no power outage is the best service,' and we will continue to improve this innovative technology and contribute to the development of mountainous areas in Hangzhou."

With a history of over 5,000 years and now acting as a semi-provincial level city, Hangzhou administers 10 districts, one county-level city and two counties, including Chun'an.

Contact the writers at zhuangqiange@chinadaily.com.cn