The Vietnam National Power Transmission Corporation aims to create astable, safe national power grid, its Director General, Vu Ngoc Minh,told the weekly Kinh te Vietnam & The gioi (Vietnam and WorldEconomic Affairs).
*Will you explain your assessment of the grid's performance?
Whenwe talk about the power transmission sector, we should mention thefunction of the first line of the trans-Vietnam 500 kV line, which wasput into commission in May, 1994. It has played a pivotal role inmerging the power line between the North and the South. Together withlines one and two of the trans-Vietnam 500 kV, line 3 connects Pleiku,My Phuoc and Cau Bong, and was commissioned in May, 2014. It has helpedstrengthen and stabilise power transmission nationwide.
In myopinion, the present 500 kV transmission line has played an importantrole in supplying stable electricity to all of Vietnam's major citiesand economic zones. Our corporation has extended its management to 61/63provinces nationwide, with 500-220 kV power stations operating in 57/63provinces.
In addition, we are proud to say that advancedtechnology has been used in our power transmissions, including the 220kV underground cable and the GIS 220 kV stations.
*What challenges does your corporation face?
Thefirst two biggest challenges we have to face are weather conditions andthe topography. These two factors have strong impacts on the operationof transmission lines, particularly in the monsoon season.
As Imentioned earlier, the North-South transmission lines link all powertransmission lines nationwide (north-central and south regions) into onegrid. So when an incident occurs somewhere in the 500 kV, it willimmediately affect power transmission nationwide. At worst, it couldcause a blackout in one region or even in the whole country.
Theincident that occurred in the Da Nang 500 kV station on September 2 was acase in point. As a result, several regions along the North-South 500kV power line experienced short blackouts. Or we can consider theincident on May 22, 2013, on the 500 kV North-South transmission line,which caused a big power shortage in the South.
And in a dominoeffect, transmission lines were seriously affected nationwide, cuttingpower to many regions in northern, central and southern Vietnam forseveral hours.
*Can your corporation do something to ensure the trans-Vietnam power line's safety?
Inaddition to applying measures to promote quality management of theline, we also have to conduct regular inspections for detecting anymishaps, and perform regular checks on transformers and equipment toensure it operates normally. We have also used the GIS application andother advanced equipment to protect the line.
The biggestchallenge we are currently facing is how to manage the varioustechnologies used in the management and operation system, as ourequipment was procured from various manufacturers according to winningbidders' choice.
Another major challenge I should mention ismaintaining power transmission line 1, which has been in operation formore than 20 years. This is a big economic issue that we have toconsider very carefully.
*Has your corporation worked out a plan to meet the increasing electricity demand of 265-275 billion kWh per year by 2020?
Toensure stable and safe power transmission nationally, our corporationhas invested nearly 18.6 billion VND (885 million USD) this year inupgrading transmission lines.
For the immediate future, mycorporation will install more equipment and facilities to compensate forthe 220-110 kV in the North-Central and South Vietnam and ensure thesupply of stable voltage. In the long run, we'll focus more onincreasing the liability and stability of the transmission line, andreducing losses.
In the pipeline, we plan to develop a nationalelectric model with five big diagrams: the national electric powerdevelopment plan, an operation organisation, an electrical moderationsystem, a communication system and an automatic breaker system. We hopethat when the plan is implemented we will have a safe and sustainablepower line, and that we will be able to connect it to regionalcountries' transmission lines.-VNA
*Will you explain your assessment of the grid's performance?
Whenwe talk about the power transmission sector, we should mention thefunction of the first line of the trans-Vietnam 500 kV line, which wasput into commission in May, 1994. It has played a pivotal role inmerging the power line between the North and the South. Together withlines one and two of the trans-Vietnam 500 kV, line 3 connects Pleiku,My Phuoc and Cau Bong, and was commissioned in May, 2014. It has helpedstrengthen and stabilise power transmission nationwide.
In myopinion, the present 500 kV transmission line has played an importantrole in supplying stable electricity to all of Vietnam's major citiesand economic zones. Our corporation has extended its management to 61/63provinces nationwide, with 500-220 kV power stations operating in 57/63provinces.
In addition, we are proud to say that advancedtechnology has been used in our power transmissions, including the 220kV underground cable and the GIS 220 kV stations.
*What challenges does your corporation face?
Thefirst two biggest challenges we have to face are weather conditions andthe topography. These two factors have strong impacts on the operationof transmission lines, particularly in the monsoon season.
As Imentioned earlier, the North-South transmission lines link all powertransmission lines nationwide (north-central and south regions) into onegrid. So when an incident occurs somewhere in the 500 kV, it willimmediately affect power transmission nationwide. At worst, it couldcause a blackout in one region or even in the whole country.
Theincident that occurred in the Da Nang 500 kV station on September 2 was acase in point. As a result, several regions along the North-South 500kV power line experienced short blackouts. Or we can consider theincident on May 22, 2013, on the 500 kV North-South transmission line,which caused a big power shortage in the South.
And in a dominoeffect, transmission lines were seriously affected nationwide, cuttingpower to many regions in northern, central and southern Vietnam forseveral hours.
*Can your corporation do something to ensure the trans-Vietnam power line's safety?
Inaddition to applying measures to promote quality management of theline, we also have to conduct regular inspections for detecting anymishaps, and perform regular checks on transformers and equipment toensure it operates normally. We have also used the GIS application andother advanced equipment to protect the line.
The biggestchallenge we are currently facing is how to manage the varioustechnologies used in the management and operation system, as ourequipment was procured from various manufacturers according to winningbidders' choice.
Another major challenge I should mention ismaintaining power transmission line 1, which has been in operation formore than 20 years. This is a big economic issue that we have toconsider very carefully.
*Has your corporation worked out a plan to meet the increasing electricity demand of 265-275 billion kWh per year by 2020?
Toensure stable and safe power transmission nationally, our corporationhas invested nearly 18.6 billion VND (885 million USD) this year inupgrading transmission lines.
For the immediate future, mycorporation will install more equipment and facilities to compensate forthe 220-110 kV in the North-Central and South Vietnam and ensure thesupply of stable voltage. In the long run, we'll focus more onincreasing the liability and stability of the transmission line, andreducing losses.
In the pipeline, we plan to develop a nationalelectric model with five big diagrams: the national electric powerdevelopment plan, an operation organisation, an electrical moderationsystem, a communication system and an automatic breaker system. We hopethat when the plan is implemented we will have a safe and sustainablepower line, and that we will be able to connect it to regionalcountries' transmission lines.-VNA
