This project was primarily designed to support the transmission of dispatching telephone services, dispatch automation systems, line protection signals, and other critical information between the Zhangye Substation, the Gansu Provincial Dispatch Center, and the Northwest Branch of the National Dispatch Center.

As part of the Zhangye 750 kV transmission and transformation project, OPGW optical cables were installed along the Zhangye–Jiuquan 750 kV line and the Zhangye–Hexi 750 kV line to establish dedicated optical communication circuits. This approach offered several key advantages. First, the communication routes were less affected by external and geographic conditions, and the optical cable system could be designed and constructed in parallel with the new transmission lines—reducing overall investment while ensuring simultaneous commissioning with the substation. Second, the circuits not only met the needs of power dispatching, dispatch automation, and production management information transmission, but also provided a reliable and efficient communication channel for system protection and security automation devices. Third, the project created high-quality fiber resources for the development of Gansu Province’s secondary communications network, laying a strong foundation for the future deployment of OTN circuits.