On October 24, news from Suqian, Jiangsu, reported by Wang Songzhu, highlights the urgency faced by fish farmers in Shuyang County. Recently, an intense windstorm exceeding level 8 struck the region, causing widespread power outages in the aquaculture area of Machang Town. This outage not only disrupted oxygen supply systems but also put over 1.5 billion yuan worth of aquatic products at risk of suffocation.
In a race against time, rescue operations began in the late hours, combining both land and aerial efforts. Zhang Liancheng, the head of the aquaculture facility, frantically called the State Grid’s Shuyang County power supply company for help. “We’ve lost power in the fishponds! Our fish and shrimp—worth over 100 million yuan—might not make it!” His distress was palpable; the on-duty staff member, Lu Haitao, immediately grasped the severity of the situation.
Lu, well-acquainted with the facility, understood the stakes involved. The pond contained valuable species including koi, crabs, and recently introduced 420,000 pounds of South American shrimp. Any loss due to oxygen deprivation would be catastrophic, particularly for the shrimp, which require immediate oxygen when placed in temperature-controlled environments. If the power was out for more than one hour, the shrimp were likely to perish.
“Please switch to the backup power! We’re heading out right now!” Lu reassured Zhang over the phone. Arriving on-site shortly after, he discovered that the strong winds had halted oxygen machines across seven ponds, affecting approximately 2.8 million pounds of aquatic products. To make matters worse, the backup fuel available could sustain operations for only one hour.
“Identifying the fault in this weather is tricky, and restoring power is time-sensitive. We need to provide temporary power while we fix the issue,” Lu explained as he urgently contacted his power supply station for backup generator support. Within half an hour, an emergency power truck arrived, and Lu and his team worked swiftly to assess the situation and prepare for the generator connection.
With temporary electricity in place, Lu focused on pinpointing the fault and restoring full power. However, navigating the nearly 3,000 acres of dark aquaculture territory proved challenging under the storm’s conditions, with only a few flashlights at their disposal. “Haitao, quickly arrange for the power transmission and transformation inspection center to deploy a drone for lighting,” prompted Jiang Lei, the head of the power supply station.
By 6:50 PM, the emergency power was successfully connected, illuminating the facility and providing immediate relief for the farmers. With the drone’s assistance, Lu and his colleagues quickly identified the outage’s root cause: a fault in the low-voltage cable connected to the facility’s transformer that required urgent replacement.
After over five hours of intense repair work, normal power supply was restored, and the familiar hum of oxygen machines resumed, bringing bubbles to the surface of the ponds. “All our hopes for the year rest on these aquatic products worth over 100 million yuan. We can’t imagine the consequences if you hadn’t come to our aid,” a grateful farmer expressed to Lu, highlighting the critical impact of the team’s swift response.