2021-1-6 13:35:09

The development of energy-saving transformer industry should attach importance to "quality"

Energy-efficient transformers, as one of the effective energy-saving measures, have promising prospects in large-scale power networks. However, the use of low-cost energy-efficient transformers has led to the influx of substandard products into practical applications, causing some economic losses.

"Power transformers are key electrical equipment for power transmission, with transformer losses accounting for 30% to 40% of grid losses. In China, the losses from all transformers account for more than 2% of the national power generation. Reducing transformer losses and improving power transmission efficiency are issues of global concern and a focus for government agencies and power consumers in promoting energy-efficient industrial products," said Zhang Lingyu, head of the EU-China Energy-Efficient Transformer Promotion Project, at the 2012 Transformer Energy Efficiency International Forum on November 6, 2012. Many companies at the forum also noted that issues such as outdated standards, overcapacity, and market chaos have emerged, making the continued promotion of energy-efficient transformer development a key industry focus.

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, benefiting from the rapid development of the power industry, the transformer industry maintained steady growth. According to data released by the China Electricity Council, in 2010, the country added 91.27 million kilowatts of new power generation capacity, with a total installed capacity of 962.19 million kilowatts. During this period, China's power generation capacity successively surpassed 600 million, 700 million, 800 million, and 900 million kilowatts, with an average annual growth rate of 13.22%, meeting the strong demand for electricity driven by economic growth. The rapid development of power construction in China has led to a sharp increase in transformer demand, prompting many domestic transformer companies to quickly expand their production capacity, with some even doubling their output. Statistics show that there are about 1,500 transformer manufacturing enterprises in China, with an annual production capacity of about 3 billion kVA. However, over the past three years, the annual demand for transformers in China has been around 1.5 billion kVA.

While investment in power infrastructure has grown, the pace of grid construction in China has also accelerated, with the scale continuously expanding. By the end of 2011, the total number of distribution transformers in operation in China was about 13.5 million, of which 2.94 million were energy-efficient distribution transformers of S11 and above, accounting for 21.8% of the total. Public distribution transformers totaled about 2.975 million, with 1 million being energy-efficient types, accounting for 33.6%. Dedicated distribution transformers numbered about 10.525 million, with 1.94 million being energy-efficient, accounting for 18.4%. Amorphous alloy distribution transformers totaled about 110,000, accounting for 0.8%, with 70,000 in urban distribution networks and 40,000 in rural distribution networks.

However, overcapacity has led to fierce competition, with many companies falling into a vicious cycle of low-price bidding, resulting in declining transformer quality and increasing accident rates, which have been widely criticized in the industry. In this competitive environment, the economic benefits of domestic transformer companies have significantly declined. Additionally, the market for energy-efficient distribution transformers is chaotic, with insufficient quality supervision during operation, leading some low-quality, small-capacity companies to make false promises and arbitrary quotes, cutting corners in production and resulting in uneven product quality, disrupting normal market and bidding orders. Many companies are on the brink of loss or bankruptcy, facing mergers and acquisitions. Some companies have started to explore overseas markets, exporting products and building factories abroad, while others are focusing on developing new, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and intelligent products.

Currently, there is a lack of a unified definition and standard for energy-efficient distribution transformers. There is an urgent need to unify the definition of energy-efficient distribution transformers and clearly define their substantive technical indicators, which should be as quantifiable and detailed as possible, especially in terms of operability. It is also necessary to further improve national standards for energy-efficient transformers to keep pace with international developments.