ZIBO, China, Oct. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One can drive their new energy vehicle to work in the morning, and charge it at the public charging station in their residential area after work. At 6 p.m. on September 19th, the EV public charging station in Pingguoyuan, Zhangdian District, Zibo, Shandong Province, gradually became busy: more than ten new energy vehicles, orderly parked, were being recharged.
"There are lots of charging stalls in such a big charging station, so I'm not worried about not getting one when I get here after work," said Zhang Yugang, the owner of a new energy vehicle, charging his car. This residential area, Pingguoyuan, is located on the southern outskirts of Zhangdian District, 6 kilometers away from the city centre. Recent years have witnessed many residents' choices to give up driving gas cars and to commute in new energy vehicles that are more economical.
In order to meet the growing demand of charging an increasingly large number of new energy vehicles in this area, State Grid Zibo Power Supply Company put into use Zibo's biggest EV public charging station in Pingguoyuan on August 31. Equipped with charging stalls of different voltage levels ranging from 240 kW, 360 kW, and 420 kW, the charging station is able to serve 54 new energy vehicles simultaneously. The "5-kilometer charging circle" covers 14 adjacent administrative villages.
"The key to boosting purchases of new energy vehicle in rural areas lies in the infrastructural construction of charging services," remarked Song Zengxiang, the director of the marketing department of State Grid Zibo Power Supply Company. The company, in August alone, has put into use 200 AC charging stalls in rural areas, serving 16.55 million kWh for charging new energy vehicles. On September 1, State Grid Zibo took the lead in starting the campaign of "Dressing up Beautiful Countryside with Charging Stalls, Lighting up Happy life with Electricity", which is composed of 10 measures to safeguard electric power supplies for encouraging rural purchases of new energy vehicles and fostering rural revitalization, such as to accelerate the construction of public charging infrastructure, to actualize convenient personal purchase, and to improve the service of public charging network, etc. It is notable among these measures that personal purchase is followed by a convenient service of "charge-as-you-pay".
"I drove my new energy vehicle home, and before long, the power supply staff came to provide services," said Li Wenqiang, a resident of Zhufo Village, Qiling Street, Linzi District. His purchase of an electric car on the morning of September 3 was immediately followed, in the afternoon, by an on-site investigation by State Grid Zibo's staff to determine where the charging stall would be installed. The installment of the charging stall finished quickly the next day.
As the "24-hour electricity butler", State Grid Zibo closely connects with new energy vehicle agencies and township grid groups so as to obtain timely information of residents' intentions on buying new energy vehicles, promptly arrange an exclusive account manager to connect with them, and promote simplified power service when residents apply for personal charging stalls. Residents are supposed to merely provide their ID card and vehicle brand, and the account manager will offer full on-site services to help them complete the online application for charging stalls and generate an electric power supply plan with just one click. Such services allow customers to enjoy the convenience of "charge-as-you-pay" and "zero errand-running" on application for charging stalls.
Up to now, State Grid Zibo has put 138 public charging stations and 757 charging stalls into operation. According to the campaign plan of "Dressing up Beautiful Countryside with Charging Stalls, Lighting up Happy life with Electricity", State Grid Zibo will comprehensively upgrade rural power grids during the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, with an average capacity of 3.5 kilovolts per household in rural areas and the guarantee of unimpeded access to various charging infrastructure. By 2024, there will be a charging station in every county and a charging stall every town; by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, a "1-kilometer charging circle" will be established in urban areas and a "5-kilometer charging circle" in rural areas.
