Keeping the electricity flowing since the early days of national unification

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Chan (standing 2nd from right) and Mr. Le Van Be (standing 2nd from left) visit equipment at Dong Nai 110kV Station (Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park, Bien Hoa City) - where Mr. Chan has worked and been attached for decades. Photo: D.Tung

This was an urgent task that every electricity worker in Dong Nai at that time had to overcome with many difficulties, contributing to maintaining national defense, security and serving people's lives.

Do not let the current be interrupted

Immediately after the country's reunification, in Dong Nai, local forces and establishments determined that in addition to protecting the achievements of the revolution, it was necessary to maintain the operation of the power system. Therefore, on the morning of May 1, 1975, the Saigon - Gia Dinh Military Management Committee took full and intact control of the technical facilities of the Vietnam Electricity Company and began the process of restoring the power system. The Military Management Committee set out the task of calling all workers and civil servants back to work as usual; by all means, the power supply must be kept running continuously, without causing difficulties for the takeover and ensuring the daily life of the urban areas.

Dong Nai is an area adjacent to Saigon, playing an important role with many military infrastructures, traffic infrastructures, including Bien Hoa Industrial Park - the predecessor of the current Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park. Therefore, the electricity workers here quickly started working, maintaining electricity for daily life, production, and protecting the achievements of the revolution.

Director of Dong Nai Electricity Company Limited Truong Dinh Quoc said that, promoting the proud tradition of the past 50 years of Dong Nai electricity industry, in the coming years, the unit will continue to make efforts in all aspects of work to ensure electricity supply throughout the province.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Chan (80 years old, living in Bien Hoa city, who used to work at the 110kV Dong Nai Station, Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park before April 30, 1975) recalled: “When the liberation army entered Bien Hoa, we still worked normally at this station, at that time the station took electricity from Thu Duc to supply to Bien Hoa Industrial Park. After April 30, 1975, the military force entered to take over, at that time we continued to coordinate and cooperate with the taking over unit to maintain the electricity flow for Bien Hoa Industrial Park”.

From 1975 to 1978, in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces, electricity was mainly used for lighting and daily activities. Along with the 160MW Da Nhim Hydroelectric Plant that generated electricity in 1964, the southern government built oil-fired thermal power sources and installed them in places where there was a need in key urban areas and military zones.

After the liberation of the South, the power grid system in Dong Nai was only 66km of 15kV lines with a total capacity of more than 78 thousand kVA. The power grid system did not cover the whole province, so many areas in the province did not have electricity, only enough to supply electricity to Bien Hoa Industrial Park and some important wards of Bien Hoa city.

Mr. Le Van Be (76 years old, living in Bien Hoa city, used to work at Bien Hoa 110kV Station and Hoa An Diesel Station, Bien Hoa city before April 30, 1975) said that after the liberation army entered, the general mood of him and his colleagues was worried about changes in work. But when working with the military forces, everyone was very happy because they knew that the work was not stopped or changed, he and his colleagues continued to carry out the same task as before, which was to maintain the electricity supply for production and daily life; at the same time, join hands with the revolutionary government to protect the electricity infrastructure, avoiding sabotage by bad elements.

Overcoming difficulties, bringing electricity to every home

According to the Southern Power Corporation, during the period 1980-1985, in the southern provinces (including Dong Nai), the electricity sector took advantage of existing power sources, overhauled and replaced old equipment to increase capacity, and overcome the situation of rotating power outages. The renovation of the power grid, prioritizing power supply to key areas, arranging for factories to take turns off, and reducing electricity usage were temporary measures while new power sources had not yet been put into operation.

Not only focusing on urban areas, Bien Hoa Industrial Park, but also right after the country's reunification, some areas focusing on agricultural production also focused on maintaining electricity for daily life, irrigation... This is an important task, requiring the efforts and creativity of the Diesel Station in Kiem Tan - Dinh Quan, Long Khanh area... In total, the above area provided electricity for nearly 4 thousand households and production facilities in the years after the country's reunification.

Mr. Lai Duc Oanh (85 years old, residing in Thong Nhat district, former Head of Dien Dinh Quan branch) was the Head of the Diesel Power Generation Group of Kiem Tan - Dinh Quan in the early days after liberation.

Mr. Oanh recalled: “After the country’s reunification, the electricity industry faced many difficulties due to the lack of equipment and spare parts for repair and replacement. In order to operate the US-made electricity machinery systems regularly to serve the people in Thong Nhat and Dinh Quan districts for cultivation, we had to use components and equipment from the Soviet Union that were improved and converted to suit. This required creativity, research, and a high spirit of dedication and effort from the entire team during that difficult period.”

Dong Nai electricity industry made efforts to overcome difficulties in the 1970s and 1980s with many shortages, while working and consolidating the organizational, management and operation model in the context of extremely scarce electricity sources. Intermediate stations were overloaded, the ability to develop the grid could not keep up with the increase in load, and there was not enough capital to invest in renovating and upgrading the grid.

Over the past 50 years, Dong Nai Power Company Limited has gone through many different names along with changes in organizational structure such as: Dong Nai Electricity Management and Distribution Department, Dong Nai Electricity Department, Dong Nai Electricity, Dong Nai Electricity Company and now Dong Nai Power Company Limited (under Southern Power Corporation). The power grid system has developed and covered the entire province. By January 2025, Dinh Quan Power Company (under Dong Nai Power Company Limited) had pulled wires and energized households in Hamlet 7, Dak Lua Commune (Tan Phu District) - the last hamlet in the province to have a national power grid invested by the electricity sector.

The leader of Dong Nai Electricity Company Limited informed that the unit is managing more than 567km of 110kV lines, 27 110kV transformer stations, nearly 6,000km of medium voltage lines, and 7,000km of low voltage lines. Thereby, supplying electricity to more than 986,000 customers across the province (reaching 100% of households with electricity across the province).

Dang Tung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/giu-dong-dien-sang-tu-nhung-ngay-dau-dat-nuoc-thong-nhat-07741f5/