It was decided that the long-unresolved problem of poor management in electricity consumption would be eliminated once for all!

On April 20, 2013, a project was launched in the old zone to transform the old electricity metering system by providing one meter for each house. The project lasting 2 months, aimed to bring order to the consumption of electricity within the old zone, eliminate any hidden safety hazards, and improve the level of service there. Not only was all field work conducted only at night during the implementation of the project to reduce its impact on the normal life and business operations of the old zone's population, but also equal emphasis was placed on both construction and transformation and on the optimization of the power distribution network, which led to a fully automated distribution network that was technically advanced, flexible and reliable, and cost-effective. In fact, the project won high praise from the local residents throughout its implementation and excellent results.

According to Dunzhuciren, director of the project, which was undertaken by the Lhasa Branch of the State Grid, there were only a slightly over 40 transformers on Barkhor Street, all of which were only 350to 400kilovolt-ampere(KVA) in capacity. Now, after the project was implemented, there are a total of 125 box-type transformers of a capacity of 800KVA to 1250KVA each, which has significantly solved some of the old zone's problems, including insufficient capacity and poor electrical safety.

As part of the project, 158 lines of 10KV were constructed, and so were 573.12 km of overhead lines and 251.57 km of cable lines, which necessitated 742 transformers that added up to a gross capacity of 247.155 megavolt-ampere(MVA); 493 transformers, adding up to 248.86MVA in capacity, were transformed. In summary, the project has brought widely-popular change to 1.33 square kilometers and put a population of 80,000 residents within the area at ease through improved electrical safety.

If you go to Barkhor Street today, those vertical poles that used to prevail in the past are long gone, and so are those ugly cobwebs that used to stretch across the street back and forth. Instead, a large number of box-type transformers are scattered across the street, and so are meters, placed in groups inside a meter box, that each lead to a house.

In fact, the project has fundamentally solved some of the problems of the old zone related to electricity consumption, including a disorderly, aging wire network, deteriorating transformers, and overloaded wires. It has provided a meter for each house and ensured a stable voltage at each house, thereby improving the general level of service across the area; the project has caused all wires, both strong-current and weak-current ones, to run either underground through buried ducts or along the wall, with a view to eliminating hidden safety hazards arising from aging wires, which guarantee the safety of the lives and property of the residents and provide safe and stable electricity consumption.

Moreover, the project has fundamentally prevented the practice of business users consuming electricity as residential users because the electricity supplier reads meters directly to every house, thus making the user's payment for electricity more transparent, freer, and more convenient; the project has also beautified the urban landscape of the old zone.

As part of projects aimed at protecting the old zone, some firefighting facilities like fire hydrants have been installed or upgraded to improve the fire safety of the communities.

Some more effort is needed. The "Lhasa Old Zone Protection Regulations" began to be implemented as of October 1, 2013.

As a result, the protection of the old zone made a transition from haphazard efforts to actions governed by laws and regulations. The Regulations clearly define the boundary of the old zone, to what extent it will be developed, and the standards for clearances and limits to be followed. In fact, the Regulations have provided a strong shield for the spatial structure of the old zone so that it can be better protected.

In the Regulations, some acts are specifically prohibited, including modifying or erecting electric wires without authorization, and lighting, producing, dealing in, or storing fireworks and other flammable or explosive articles. Emphasis is also placed on fire safety, as it is clearly stipulated in the following provision: "Efforts should be made to perfect the old zone's fire water supply, routes, communications, and other fire safety-related facilities according to current national fire safety standards."

It is everyone's duty to protect the old zone. The Municipal Party Committee and People's Government of Lhasa are already playing a vital role in saving and protecting the old zone. Whoever you are, a resident who lives or works in the old zone or a tourist, you are obliged to cherish and protect the treasures passed down from the earlier generations. Only after all hidden fire hazards are eliminated and all fire safety rules and regulations are observed will the historical and cultural heritage of the old zone be properly protected and passed down to later generations. (Genduo)