Nghe An Electricity Company ensures continuous and safe power supply during the hot season of 2020

According to data from the National Power System Control Center, the national electricity consumption on May 21, 2020 reached 789.6 million kWh, which is not only the highest level since the beginning of 2020 but also higher than the largest electricity consumption day of 2019 and also a new record high.

Nghe An Electricity Company workers maintain power lines. Photo: pcnghean

In Nghe An, during the recent hot days, the load increased, the capacity exceeded the peak of the whole year 2019, especially on May 21, 2020: The system's maximum capacity reached 701 MW, an increase of 9.8% over the same period and 1.6% higher than the peak capacity in 2019. The highest daily electricity consumption of Nghe An province reached 13.7 million kWh, an increase of 3.7% over the same period in 2019. On a normal day in May 2020, the total electricity consumption of the province was 10.4 million kWh; Maximum capacity reached 539 MW.

With a large area and complex terrain, the hot season in Nghe An is often accompanied by extreme weather. In late April and early May, there were many tornadoes and hailstorms in the area, especially in mountainous districts such as Ky Son, Tan Ky, Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Quy Hop... causing transformer fires, broken poles, power lines... causing widespread power outages. Nghe An Electricity Company mobilized forces, materials and equipment to quickly overcome incidents caused by natural disasters.

Faced with the situation of increased electricity consumption during the hot season, since the first quarter of 2020, Nghe An Electricity Company has proactively developed plans to operate the power system in the whole province, ensuring that medium-voltage lines and 110 kV transformer stations are not overloaded. At the same time, the Company has increased the capacity to prevent overload for distribution transformer stations, rotated transformers to prevent incidents, replaced and energized many new transformers, repaired and upgraded some lines in vulnerable locations... The Company also assigned staff and workers to be on duty regularly, continuously 24/7 to resolve local overload situations during peak hours; limit power outages, avoid affecting people's lives and production".

Comrade Bang Hong Hien - Director of Nghe An Electricity Company

Ky Son Electricity staff and villagers manually carried the machine up to the foot of the station on a high hill to replace the machine to provide safe and stable electricity during the hot season for the people of Hin Pen, Bao Nam, Ky Son villages. Photo: pcnghean

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, in the coming time, severe heat will continue to occur in the North and Central provinces with common temperatures of 34 - 36 degrees Celsius. In the following months, the heat will continue to last and the temperature may be even higher, causing the demand for electricity as well as electricity consumption to continue to increase.

Prolonged hot weather also leads to the potential risk of power grid failure because many outdoor electrical equipment have to endure high temperature environment for a long time, even at night it is very hot. For households, prolonged hot weather also significantly affects the operation and reduces the efficiency of electrical equipment. This leads to the risk of overload, failure, circuit breaker tripping, and even the risk of fire and explosion will also be higher than normal.

Thanh Chuong Power Company increases the capacity of Thanh Ha Intermediate Substation from 1,800kvA to 2,500kvA to prevent overload in summer 2020. Photo: pcnghean

To reduce the cost of electricity that customers have to pay as well as contribute to reducing the pressure on the power supply to the entire system, helping to operate the power system stably and safely, Nghe An Electricity Company recommends that customers use electricity safely and effectively by installing rooftop solar power, turning off unnecessary devices, using electricity reasonably and applying thorough power saving solutions in daily life as well as in economic and social activities.

Nghe An Electricity Company respectfully recommends that customers refer to some solutions for effective, safe, economical use of electricity, and fire prevention due to short circuits and equipment overload.
The rational use and saving of electricity by people, agencies, units, especially enterprises in the province is of great significance in contributing to the Electricity sector providing a regular and continuous power supply. Thereby, ensuring the supply of electricity to serve the production and business needs and people's lives, protecting the living environment, and ensuring energy security.

Installing load shedding circuit and transferring protection group to serve parallel operation mode of two transformers at Quy Hop 110kV station. Photo: pcnghean

Solutions for efficient and economical use of electricity:

- Closely monitor your family's electricity meter readings daily at http://cskh.npc.com.vn/ to have a reasonable electricity usage plan.
- Turn off electrical equipment when not in use.
- Regularly clean and maintain the equipment to ensure stable and economical operation. Choose to buy green-label energy-saving electrical equipment with capacity suitable for your needs.
- Air conditioner (power-consuming device): Set daytime temperature 26 - 27 degrees Celsius, nighttime (bedroom) 27 - 29 degrees Celsius (prioritize increasing fan speed). Increasing 1 degree Celsius will save about 10% of electricity.
- Refrigerator: Adjust the temperature appropriately according to the season, regularly check the rubber gasket for leaks; do not open the refrigerator for too long; do not store too much food; keep the refrigerator away from heat-generating devices (water heater, stove, oven, etc.).
- Iron, water heater: You should iron a lot of clothes at once, iron thick clothes first and use the heat to iron thin clothes. You should buy an indirect water heater, turn it on 10-15 minutes before bathing.
- Light, rice cooker, fan: Choose compact lamps, LED lamps and take advantage of natural light. Cook rice 30 - 45 minutes before eating to reduce reheating time. Adjust fan speed to suit your needs.
- Make the most of natural light and ventilation.
Solutions to ensure safe use of electricity in hot weather:
- Check and turn off unnecessary electrical equipment before leaving the house or before going to bed.
- Immediately disconnect heat-generating electrical devices and appliances (iron, electric stove, resistance heating device...) from the power source when not in use or when there is a power outage while in use.
- Do not leave flammable substances (gas, gasoline, oil, paper, cloth...) near electrical lines and electrical equipment such as: lamps, irons, electric stoves...
- The power outlet must be of good quality, do not use many devices at the same time, be careful of overloading the cord and outlet, do not plug the power cord directly into the outlet, do not use an outlet with cracked insulation or rust...
- Absolutely do not use bare electrical wires in the home; do not hook up electrical wires randomly, do not thread wires under the roof; do not hang goods or items on electrical lines or equipment...
- In case of fire or explosion, quickly cut off the power source, alert everyone around; immediately notifyFire Police by phone number 114.
- Customer service center phone number:19006769when there are unusual signs or need advice on any electrical problems.