State Power Investment Corp's Henan subsidiary successfully connected its first thermal-storage frequency regulation project to the grid on August 18, marking the company's entry into auxiliary services for new power systems.

The project at Kaifeng Power Plant took just two and a half months from construction start to grid connection. It adds an 18 MW/36 MWh energy storage system to two existing 630 MW thermal units, with four storage step-up transformers and two 6 kV storage buses connected to the plant's auxiliary power system. A coordinated control system manages output to improve the units' overall regulation performance.

The successful grid connection strengthens Kaifeng Power's competitiveness in the electricity spot and auxiliary services markets, while providing a replicable model for integrating thermal power with energy storage. The project also supports grid stability and renewable energy consumption.