Border village in Que Phong eagerly awaits national grid power

On the afternoon of February 23, many Long Thang villagers went out to the street to watch trucks transporting coils of electric wire and concrete poles, setting up a system of poles to prepare to bring the power grid to the village.

Construction and installation of electric poles in Long Thang village, Hanh Dich commune. Photo: Hoai Thu

Mrs. Ha Thi Ngong in Long Thang village stood watching the construction workers and said that she has lived more than half her life but her family has not bought any light bulbs or a television to watch because the village has no electricity. Her family, like nearly 200 households in Long Thang village, is still waiting for the "light of civilization" to come to the village.

Mr. Ha Van Hai - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Hanh Dich commune said that currently, the commune has 2 villages without electricity grid, of which, Long Thang village has 6 families that have invested and are developing homestay tourism services, households are having to use self-equipped generators. The lack of electricity grid has significantly affected the lives and production of people as well as the implementation of criteria for building new rural communes and villages.

It is expected that Long Thang and Hanh Tien villages will have electricity by early March 2023. Electrical construction workers are rushing to complete burying the electric pole system and pulling the power lines to operate and connect the power.

Long Thang villagers weave during the day because there is no electricity at night. Photo: Hoai Thu

According to the staff of Que Phong District People's Committee, currently, there are 7 villages in the district that do not have electricity grid. Previously, implementing items under the Project of investing in the construction of rural electricity supply works from the national grid of Nghe An province in the period of 2015-2020, in January 2022, Nghe An Electricity Company energized Dong Tien Transformer Station, Dong Van Commune and Muong Phu Transformer Station, Thong Thu Commune, helping people in these villages officially have electricity from the national grid.

In November 2022, through meetings with voters, people of Long Thang and Hanh Tien villages made recommendations to the Provincial People's Committee to pay attention to directing people to use the national grid.

The Provincial People's Committee also responded to voters, stating that the Project to Supply Electricity from the National Grid to Communes, Villages and Hamlets without Electricity in Nghe An Province is a large project, of special importance to security, national defense and socio-economic development. However, due to the large investment capital and the urgency of different areas, the project is divided into many investment and construction phases according to the annual allocation of the Central budget.

By November 2022, Nghe An Electricity Company had completed 2 phases, phase 3 of the project was basically completed and phase 4 was being implemented. The power supply to Long Thang village and Hanh Tien village, Hanh Dich commune (Que Phong) belongs to phase 4, expected to be completed and energized in 2023.