There's no shortage of supplies, but they're still being cut off…

(Baonghean)In recent days, localized power outages have occurred in Hung Binh, Hung Phuc, and Ha Huy Tap wards, disrupting the daily lives of residents and causing frustration for many electricity customers. Residents and businesses alike share a common concern: Will there be electricity shortages and rolling power cuts this summer, as has happened before?

The technical infrastructure has not yet met the needs.

During the recent power outages, even though the generator at the Huong Giang Hotel on Nguyen Duc Canh Street in Hung Binh Ward didn't have enough power to run the air conditioners, only enough for fans, the rooms were still fully booked. Local residents rented rooms to escape the heat caused by the nighttime power cuts. Those who couldn't find a room ended up bringing chairs out onto the sidewalk to enjoy the breeze and chat… The most difficult situation was for families with young children who had to carry their babies to relatives' houses to sleep in the middle of the night… The power outage, especially during peak nighttime hours, caused countless inconveniences for residents. This situation has been ongoing for several days, but the power company has yet to proactively resolve it.

This summer, will there be power shortages and rolling cuts like before? When this concern was raised with Mr. Banh Hong Hien, Deputy Director of Nghe An Power Company, he explained: “In other seasons, the average daily electricity consumption in our province is 4.3 million kWh, but during the hot summer days, the average consumption is 6.2 million kWh. This sudden surge in electricity consumption has caused overload in some areas. To ensure the safety of the power supply system, the Power Company is forced to shed some electricity. Therefore, some areas in Vinh City experienced power outages, which were later restored to serve customers. Regarding the power supply, according to the announcement from the Vietnam Electricity Group, provinces in the northern region, including Nghe An, will not experience power rationing due to shortages, except in special cases of power source and grid failures. Therefore, this summer, our province will not experience power shortages.”

Currently, six hydropower plants (including Hua Na, Ban Ve, Nam Mo, Ban Coc, Ban Canh, and Sao Va) are operational in our province and have been connected to the national power grid, producing billions of kWh. This has not only increased the power supply but also improved the quality of electricity in the locality.

Despite a lack of power supply, power outages still occur in the area and remain unresolved. So what are the causes? First, the power sector's technical infrastructure has not met the electricity demand of customers. Simultaneously, the demand for electricity has grown too rapidly and spontaneously, lacking proper planning, leaving the power sector largely unprepared.

It has been learned that at a power substation in Hung Dung ward (Vinh City), the capacity was previously only 250 kVA and was functioning well. However, it suddenly became overloaded due to a surge in customers, requiring a replacement with a 400 kVA substation. After a while, it had to shut down again due to overload, necessitating the installation of a 630 kVA substation, along with the addition of another substation to adequately serve the residents. Similarly, in mid-May, several agencies, units, and businesses experienced power outages during working hours, the cause being small substations unable to meet the electricity demand.

An official from the electricity sector stated: "In many units, agencies, and businesses, when renovating and upgrading their offices, they have built many high-rise buildings, sports arenas, and installed more air conditioners... without upgrading the transformer substations. As a result, overloading has occurred when these facilities are put into operation. Therefore, to ensure stable electricity supply for customers, close coordination with the electricity sector is necessary."

A timely solution is needed for the power grid system in Vinh City.

The power grid system in Vinh City has been in place for quite some time and, after a long period of use, has seriously deteriorated, especially in relation to the city's development plan. Therefore, over the past time, the power grid system has been gradually invested in and upgraded, and currently, old and dilapidated substations and power lines have been removed and replaced. However, due to various factors such as planning and investment capital, the renovation and upgrading of Vinh City's power grid system has been inconsistent. A very noticeable issue in many neighborhoods and main roads is the tangled mess of power lines, which is unsightly and not only detracts from the urban landscape but also poses a potential danger during the rainy and stormy seasons.

With investment in the development of electricity infrastructure, Vinh City Power Company currently manages 278.84 km of medium-voltage lines (35, 22, 10kV), including 117 km of underground cables; over 1,050 km of low-voltage lines; and 528 transformer substations with a total rated capacity of 187,945 kVA… However, to meet the increasing demand for electricity from customers with better quality (currently, Vinh City has 72,443 electricity customers), the technical infrastructure of the electricity sector needs to be invested in synchronously. In reality, over the past period, the electricity sector has largely focused on investing in projects to combat power overload and handle incidents (and it is known that, in the near future, most of the projects that the electricity sector will focus on investing in Vinh City will be to combat power overload), while larger issues such as planning, projects with a long-term development strategy, etc., have not been implemented much.



Electricity technicians in Vinh City are handling a power line outage in Le Mao ward (Vinh City).

While the electrical infrastructure in Vinh City is undergoing investment and upgrading, and there is a lack of coordination from customers, the power sector has to handle situations on an incidental basis. Wherever overload occurs, the focus is on addressing the problem. With this approach, in just a short period from the beginning of summer until now, Nghe An Power Company has upgraded many transformers at overloaded locations such as Hung Binh, Le Mao, Hung Phuc, Ha Huy Tap, and Nghi Phu wards, and replaced 6 branch circuit breakers… As a result, some priority customers such as the Children's Hospital and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have not experienced power outages.

Mr. Tran Tien Dung – Deputy Director in charge of business at Vinh City Power Company, said: “From the beginning of 2013 until now, Vinh City Power Company has upgraded the capacity of 7 transformers to prevent overloading of the power grid in some areas of Vinh City and has energized 3 substations in Nghi Phu, Quan Bau, and Vinh Tan to redistribute the load on the regional power grid. We have also laid 6,459 meters of various types of twisted cables to connect and redistribute the load, preventing overloading on the grid, and are currently installing 3 more substations in Hung Phuc and Quang Trung…” With these timely measures, the power sector believes that Vinh City will basically overcome the situation of having to cut off electricity in the near future.

Not having to cut off electricity due to overload means there will be no localized power outages. This is good news for the people of Vinh City, but whether this can be implemented remains to be seen, as it is currently only the beginning of summer…

To ensure the continued development of Vinh City's power grid and its ability to promptly meet customer electricity needs, all levels of government, especially the Nghe An Power Company, need to implement timely, effective, and strategic solutions to mobilize investment capital for the development of Vinh City's power grid system, commensurate with its status as a Class I urban area.

Hoang Vinh