Looking at China: Electric Power Workers Warmth the Elderly Left Behind in Mountain Villages

　　On February 27, just after the Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) Festival, Xu Lei and Zeng Weiwei, members of the emergency repair team of the urban business station of the State Grid Xingan County Power Supply Company, came to the home of Zhang Ju, the elderly left behind in Zhashi Village, Qiqin Town, to repair the leakage protector.

　　Zaoshi Village is a traditional ancient Chinese village located on the Zaoshi Mountain at an altitude of over 900 meters in Qiqin Town. There are 23 permanent residents in the village, most of whom are left behind elderly people. Due to the fact that most young people go out to work, the whole village is basically in a one person, one household model, which is a typical elderly village. Zhang Jupo, the elderly, is also one of the left behind elderly people in the village.

　　A new round of cold wave has arrived after the Spring Festival, and Xingan County has entered a low-temperature, rainy, and freezing weather. The plain areas are covered in continuous rain, while the mountainous areas are covered in ice and snow. Zaishi Village is even more covered in ice and snow. The power lines in the mountainous areas are covered with ice up to 15 millimeters, posing a severe test to the power grid.

　　On the way to Zhang Ju's house, Xu Lei kept reminding Zeng Weiwei to be careful under his feet. The two of them took small steps on the rugged village road, cautiously walking towards Zhang Ju's family.

　　After careful inspection by two repair team members, it was found that the leakage protector of Mrs. Zhang's house was short circuited and burned out due to recent low temperature, rain, and snow weather. In about fifteen minutes, a new leakage protector was reinstalled. After carefully checking the wiring inside the house, Xu Lei also inputted her phone number into her phone for future contact with electricity issues. Xu Lei repeatedly explained to her the safety precautions for using electricity and instructed her to cut off the power when using an electric heater to avoid electrical disasters.

　　It is understood that every year when a cold wave approaches, State Grid Xingan County Power Supply Company strengthens its anti icing and network protection measures, arranges dedicated personnel to conduct special inspections and maintenance of power lines in mountainous areas, and fully guarantees the safe and stable operation of power lines in mountainous areas; Promote the integration of "embedded" power supply services into villages and households to ensure that electricity problems for mountain residents are solved as soon as possible during the cold wave. (Sun Junyuan)