EVN with Solutions for Electricity Shortage during Sunny Season

EVN with Solutions for Electricity Shortage during Sunny Season

Over the past number of months, a serious drought situation nationwide in late 2004 and early 2005, in particular in the north has produced negative impacts on the operation of hydro-electric power plants. In this context, the electricity industry has developed solutions to ensure its electricity supply for the national economy.

According to the Electricity Corporation of Vietnam (EVN), in 2005 waters flowing to hydro-electric power plants’ lakes is low. The figure is put at 99 per cent for the Hoa Binh and Thac Ba lakes, and 98 per cent for the Da Nhim lake. Due to severe drought, the Thac Ba, Da Nhim and Ham Thuan-DaMi lakes had to open their gates to supply water for agricultural production, resulting in their water volumes. Therefore, to cope with electricity shortage in the 2005-2007 period, on a basis of the realised plan in 2004 and the demand in 2005, EVN has considered its supply plans, balancing electricity generation sources and electricity bought from enterprises outside the corporation. Accordingly, enterprises under the management of the corporation produced 41.44 billion kilowatt hours and the corporation had to buy 10.3 billion kilowatt hours, equal to 50 per cent of the capacity of hydro-electric power plants. Also, EVN has developed a master plan to overcome this difficulty by changing its plans on major repair and maintenance of hydro and thermo-electric power plants from 2004 and working out plans for 2006. Also, the corporation has shortened the time for repair and maintenance of generation units, ensuring economic and technical criteria, by moving the implementation of repair plans in 2005-2006 to 2004. In the case of supplying water to cope with drought, EVN has co-operated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to generate electricity during ‘rush hours’ to ensure electricity and water supply purposes.

However, the corporation’s big concern is a low water volume in hydro-electric power plants’ lakes. Floods are forecast to flow to the Hoa Binh Lake late this year, in late May (floods often flow to the lake in early May). Meanwhile, the gas volume supplied to gas-run turbines of thermo-electric power plants is not adequate. EVN each day needs around 11.4 million cubic metres of gas while the supply has reached 10.08 million cubic metres. As a result, EVN’s electric power plants cannot operate to their full capacity during ‘rush hours.’ EVN has taken and is taking all possible measures to avoid an electricity cut. Accordingly, the corporation has regulated production to save maximum water volume, especially that of the Hoa Binh Lake, waiting for the earliest floods, and exploiting maximum thermo-electric power plants. Also, the corporation has promoted the operation of new electricity generation sources, including the Phu My 2-1 add-in turbine with a capacity of 150 megawatts, which is expected to start operation in late 2005. At the same time, the corporation has promoted its purchase of electricity from outside enterprises, including Phu My 3, Phu My 2-2, Hiep Phuoc, Amata, Bourbon, Vedab, Can Don, Na Loi plants, the coal-run plant of Na Duong (100 megawatts) of the Vietnam Coal Corporation. The volume of electricity bought from outside enterprises has currently doubled that of the same period last year. EVN had to buy electricity from China via 110 kilovolt transmission lines, promoting negotiations with Petro Vietnam and BP to increase their gas supplies to thermo-electric power plants.

Finally, the electricity board has planned to accelerate the operation of the 500 kilovolt transmission line, Da Nang-Ha Tinh section, in late May or early June, to increase the transmission capacity of the line from 800 megawatts to between 1,100 and 1,200 megawatts from the south to the north to reduce a risk of electricity shortage in the north.

• Giang Tu