Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has drawn up a power supply plan to aid the country’s push for a GDP growth target of 6-6.5% this year, with a projected maximum commercial electricity output of 269.3 billion kWh.

A power management center at EVN Hanoi. Photo: EVN

EVN’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Dang Hoang Anh unveiled the plan at a year-end meeting of the group’s affiliate company, National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT), on January 6.

In 2023, the operation of the national power transmission system faced significant challenges due to unusual weather patterns influenced by El Niño and prolonged heat waves, leading to a strained power grid to ensure power supply during the dry months.

"The 23 days of power shortages in 2023 are a costly lesson that significantly impacts the investment and business environment. This underscores the need for increased efforts by all stakeholders to prevent a recurrence this year,"  Anh said.

To address the issue, General Director of EVNNPT Pham Le Phu said the agency implemented a coherent set of flexible technical management and operational solutions for most of 2023, focusing on consolidating efforts and resources, establishing regulations, and strengthening operational discipline.

“The authorities have vigorously dealt with disciplinary violations and executed maintenance and repair plans for power transmission projects as scheduled,” said Phu.

EVNNPT's electricity transmission output in 2023 reached 222.5 billion kWh, achieving 100.3% of the EVN assigned target and a 5.2% increase compared to 2022. The electricity loss in 2023 reached 2.4%, a 0.14% reduction from 2022.

For 2024, EVNNPT aims for an electricity transmission output of around 233.9 billion kWh, a 5.43% increase from 2023, he said, adding that the agency expects to start 34 projects and put into operation 63 projects, with an estimated construction investment value of VND20.4 trillion (US$837.6 million).

To achieve this goal, Nguyen Anh Tuan, EVN's Director General, emphasized the need for EVNNPT to focus on ensuring the safe and stable operation of power lines and substations, particularly the 500kV north-south electricity grid.

Additionally, the adoption of new technologies in electricity transmission, such as smart grids, hotline maintenance, fault location tracking, online monitoring of key equipment, flycams, AI-based image analysis, GIS map information management, and lightning alert monitoring, should be accelerated, Tuan noted.

In a directive on solutions to ensure power supply in 2024, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reiterated that there have been occasional deficiencies and difficulties in power supply due to both objective and subjective reasons, including localized power shortages in the northern region in late May and early June 2023. Therefore, the Prime Minister urged ministries, sectors, and localities to heighten the sense of responsibility at both individual and collective levels to ensure effective coordination and timely implementation of tasks and solutions to guarantee electricity supply for production, business, and people's consumption.

According to EVN’s calculations, under both scenarios, normal water flow (with a 65% frequency of water return) or extreme conditions (with a 90% frequency of water return), the northern power system is still expected to face capacity strain at certain peak times during hot weather, particularly with the possibility of power shortages (approximately 420 - 1,770MW) in some high-demand hours in June and July.

To overcome the peak demand during the 2024 dry season, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved an electricity supply plan to proactively manage the electricity supply for the national power system, with total electricity production from power plants and imports during the peak months of the dry season reaching 109.183 trillion kWh. The ministry has requested EVN to report on the plan for ensuring electricity for the national power system, especially in the northern region during the peak dry season, with scenarios for extreme weather conditions and incidents to be submitted by March 15.