Power workers race to restore power to people in the eye of storm Kalmaegi

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 1. — Workers of Quang Tri Electricity Company use lights in the middle of the night to help their teammates repair power lines on Le Duc Tho Street, Quy Nhon Ward, Gia Lai - Photo: TAN LUC

The orange-clad men work hard from dawn to dusk, their lunch break is a quick lunch box at the foot of the transformer station. The work is hard, the sun and rain are harsh, but everyone tries their best, not bothered at all because the people in the area where Typhoon Kalmaegi swept through are waiting for electricity every day.

I dare not rest when people keep asking what time the electricity will be turned on.

After quickly eating the lunch box brought by Tuy Phuoc Power Management Team, the group of workers from Da Nang Power Company rushed down to the flooded field in Tuy Phuoc Dong Commune, Gia Lai. They quickly reconnected the power lines, coordinated with the excavator to pull the fallen power pole back upright, and firmly drove in the anchor stakes, despite the mud and flood water reaching up to their thighs.

Mr. Le Dinh Trung (53 years old), commander of shock group No. 4, his face darkened by sunburn, continuously urged and guided the group of workers.

Mr. Trung said this area is located next to Thi Nai lagoon, the terrain is low, the ground is very weak, and there was a big storm so the electric poles fell down everywhere, the workload was extremely heavy.

Not only this area, but also along a strip of plain from the old Tuy Phuoc district to the old Phu Cat and Phu My districts, 22kV power lines were broken and fell down in series.

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 2. — Excavators were mobilized in coordination with the manpower of workers of Da Nang Electricity Company to pull back fallen electric poles in Tuy Phuoc Dong commune, Gia Lai - Photo: TAN LUC

This is the 5th day the team has been on the ground, assisting the locality in rebuilding the power grid. The day before, they helped restore the 22kV line in Quy Nhon area, the 22kV line in Nhon Hoi Economic Zone, and now the line in Phuoc Son and Tuy Phuoc areas.

Having provided support to the flood-hit areas of Quang Tri and Hue four times, this commander said he had never seen such heavy damage as this time. After many days of intense work, the entire team was exhausted, but when people occasionally stopped by to ask about the power outage time, no one dared to rest.

Seeing the group of power workers struggling to wade through the fields, the locals paid special attention. At noon, Ms. Le Thi Kim Chi (34 years old), living on Tran Phu Street, Dieu Tri, drove a motorbike to bring 100 glasses of refreshing lemon tea and 100 portions of cakes to support the workers.

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 3. — At noon on November 11, Ms. Le Thi Kim Chi (34 years old), residing on Tran Phu Street, Dieu Tri, supplied lemon tea to a group of workers of Da Nang Electricity Company - Photo: TAN LUC

Since yesterday, she has prepared similar gifts to support the electricity workers at Nhon Hoi Economic Zone. Looking at the electric vehicles from Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang running back and forth along the power lines of her hometown, her heart was filled with emotion.

"I have lived for decades, from childhood until now, I have never seen such a fierce storm. Seeing the workers working hard day and night, the people were very moved. As for me, I contribute a little bit to support the team of workers" - Ms. Kim Chi said.

White night on the streets

At 9pm, many streets in Quy Nhon were lit up, but some areas were partially damaged and electricity had not reached them. The shock troops of Hue Electricity Company were working hard to lift the power line from a large fallen tree near the Dong Da lake shore.

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 4. — A group of workers from Hue Electricity Company stayed up all night to help fix a power line that was hit by a fallen tree on Le Loi Street, Quy Nhon Ward, Gia Lai - Photo: TAN LUC

Mr. Le Trong Phuoc Son, the captain of the first assault team, told his colleagues to be extremely careful when working. There had been a power outage for many days, with people anxiously coming in and out to monitor every minute, and the group of electricians was extremely tense. Despite having just experienced three consecutive deep floods, the Hue electricity workers were the first group to arrive to support the Gia Lai electricity industry.

More than 110 engineers and workers of Hue work very enthusiastically and energetically thanks to their youth and many years of experience in dealing with storms and floods. Not only do they restore the main power lines, they are also willing to help people connect broken lines behind the meter whenever requested, even though they know that more work means more work.

"In the past few days, we have been at the scene since 6am, and by the time we get back to our resting place, it is already 10pm or 11pm. Although the work is hard and the living conditions are limited, we told each other to try to help the people because this storm has caused so much damage. Everywhere we go, we see devastated villages, with houses and roofs tilted!" - said Mr. Son.

After finishing work in Quy Nhon, the Hue workers got back on the bus and headed straight to Phu Cat.

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 5. — Mr. Nguyen Huu Khanh (middle), Deputy General Director of the Central Power Corporation, directly commanded member units to help Gia Lai Power at the scene - Photo: TAN LUC

The devastation caused by typhoon Kalmaegi to the Gia Lai province power grid was extremely terrible. Just a few hours after the storm passed, 98% of the power grid load in the eastern Gia Lai region (formerly Binh Dinh area) was paralyzed.

Having spent many years facing big storms and floods across the Central region, Mr. Nguyen Huu Khanh, Deputy General Director of the Central Power Corporation, said he has never witnessed the destructive power of storms as terrible as this time.

Not only the areas where the power grid was damaged by fallen trees, but also in the open areas and in the middle of the fields, strong winds caused poles and power lines to fall and become crooked. The damage to the electricity industry has not yet been measured, but it is certainly a huge number.

Kalmaegi - Ảnh 6. — In the low-lying plains along Thi Nai lagoon, power workers waded through floodwaters all day to reconnect power lines - Photo: TAN LUC

Before the storm hit, Mr. Khanh directly commanded the response and sent forces to ready positions. After the storm passed, the corporation continued to send two more waves of reinforcements with 2,300 officers, engineers, workers and equipment to Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

During this storm, EVNCPC mobilized almost all its forces with 10 member companies to help the two provinces restore the network. The support groups were required to be self-sufficient in all machinery and equipment, giving priority to early recovery of urban centers and special loads such as schools, hospitals, water plants, government offices, industrial parks, and residential areas.

Wading through mud to save Song Cau power plant

After the storm, 105 personnel of Khanh Hoa Power Company were mobilized to help support Dak Lak province (formerly Phu Yen). The most severely damaged area was the Song Cau aquaculture area.

Mr. Nguyen Van Than (50 years old), the tour guide, said that this area is mainly flooded, swampy fields and aquaculture ponds, making it impossible to bring in machinery. The workers had to do everything manually, wading through chest-deep water to dig holes, erect poles, and pull the power lines back.

Despite the hardship, right after energizing, the whole team continued to move to Tuy Phuoc area to support Gia Lai power grid.

According to the Central Power Corporation, by the end of November 11, the entire 110kV grid and more than 82% of the medium voltage grid due to the impact of storm Kalmaegi had been restored. Of the total 1.65 million customers without power due to the storm, 1.54 million customers had their power restored, reaching more than 93%.

Some areas in Gia Lai and Dak Lak are still without power and are being urgently restored by crews.