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EVN attributes power outages to sorry state of transmission grid
Concern about a shortage of power generation sources has been eased, but another worry has replaced it: power transmission projects have been going very slowly.
Power abundant at power plants, deficient in cities
There is plenty of power, say senior officials of Electricity of Vietnam. The problem is getting it from the power plants to the cities.
In previous summers, faced by prospective shortages, EVN set power supply quotas for every locality. Because generation capacity is now adequate, EVN did not set limits this year. Even so, electricity cuts occurred often in June 2009, especially in the northern provinces. The problem lies in a national transmission grid which cannot meet peak demand for power transmission.
In a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN has acknowledged to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) that many Hanoi areas power transmission projects are lagging by two to five years.
Nguyen Dinh Thang, a senior official of MOIT’s Hanoi City office, confirmed that the implementation of power transmission projects in Hanoi has just fulfilled 10 percent of the plan. All the 110-220KV transformer stations and 110-220KV power transmission line projects have gone more slowly than scheduled.
As a result, Hanoians suffered power cuts regularly during a June 2009 heat wave, when the temperature stayed at 36oC for many days. More than 200 transformer stations and transmission lines in many areas were overloaded.
Meanwhile, analysts warn that the current problem is also a result of faulty forecasting. Hanoi’s demand for electric power has increased by 17-22 percent this year, though the Hanoi power transmission grid development plan for 2006-2010 foresaw annual increases of only14 percent.
EVN will upgrade three Hanoi areas 220KV transformer stations (Ha Dong, Chem and Mai Dong) as a temporary expedient. However, fundamental improvements in the power transmission capability of the national grid may be many years in coming, even though more new power plants will begin operation in the meantime.
Bad transmission – the key problem
The discomfort Hanoians suffered this summer was repeated over and over throughout the nation. Thang said that many localities suffered electricity cuts for the same reason: for many years, Vietnam has focused on developing power generation sources, and has not paid attention to developing power grid
Currently, the power grid in the north can only handle 3,600 MW, though its capacity should be 5,800MW to meet potential demand. A few examples illustrate the problem:
- Until a 500KV Quang Ninh-Thuong Tin transmission line is completed, it will not be possible for the capital area to get full benefit of the power provided by the new Quang Ninh 1 and Cam Pha 1 power plants.
- Delays in construction of a 500KV power line from O Mon (near Can Tho) to Nha Be (near HCMC) guarantee that the southern metropolis will remain short of power when demand peaks.
- Lagging construction at the 500KV Hiep Hoa transformer station project will impact the power generation timetable of the big new Son La Hydropower Plant, EVN’s pride and joy.
Private power plant investors (merchant generators) are also complaining about the slowness of capacity growth on the power grid. The Song Da Corporation is an experienced developer of power projects. The company says it launched its Su Pan 2 project in Lao Cai province based on EVN assurances that a new 110KV line would be complete by 2010. Now an EVN subsidiary is saying that the line will not go into operation until 2015, leaving Su Pan 2 and 27 other small generating projects with no way to market the power they will produce.
Similar situations are looming in Kontum and Quang Nam provinces, where merchant power investment has gone forward vigorously based on promises that EVN would build transmission lines to ‘harvest’ the power the new plants will produce.
Pham Huyen
vietnamnet
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