Ensuring safety during storms, minimizing damage and overcoming consequences
Reporting to the Prime Minister and the Government at the Conference, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said: With the direction of the Government, the Prime Minister was very correct, accurate, timely, and drastic; along with the participation of ministries, branches, and localities, they have seriously implemented and directed the organization of good prevention of storm No. 3, thus, minimizing the subjectivity and negligence of the people.
Implementing the Prime Minister 's telegrams, before and during the storm's landfall, the Minister of Industry and Trade issued 04 telegrams to direct units to respond, prevent, minimize damage and overcome damage after the storm passes, promptly restore power supply and proactively prepare, ensure the supply of gasoline, food, foodstuffs, essential goods ready to be brought to the market, especially in areas that may be cut off and isolated due to the storm's circulation.
On the morning of September 6, 2024, before the storm made landfall, the Minister of Industry and Trade directly inspected the response to storm No. 3 at Vietnam Electricity Group and the National Electricity System and Market Operation Company (NSMO). Later, due to the complicated developments of the storm, Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai also directly led a delegation to inspect the response to storm No. 3 at NSMO.
The Ministry has sent the Director of the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment to join the Government's inspection delegation in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong led by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.
On the afternoon of September 6, 2024, the functional unit of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Department of Information and Communications) coordinated with the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade to inspect the storage of essential consumer goods before storm No. 3 made landfall.
Briefly reporting on the damage and solutions to overcome the damage caused by storm No. 3 (Yagi), Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that regarding the power system, the transmission grid, distribution grid and 10 power plants in the Northeast region had to stop completely or stop some generators before the storm made landfall to ensure safety, it is estimated that nearly 1 million electricity customers were affected. By 6:00 a.m. on September 8, 2024, the load that could not be supplied in the North was 63%, the most severe was Hai Duong (98%, Quang Ninh up to 99%) and on a large scale in many provinces, especially Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Phu Tho had to proactively cut off power to ensure the safety of the power system. The main reason is that the power lines and transformer stations are having problems, especially the basic power grid does not have enough capacity to fix it immediately.
To overcome the consequences caused by the storm, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Ministry has directed units to concentrate and be on standby to promptly handle many incidents and urgently fix them after the storm has passed.
By 10:30 p.m. on September 7, power units had restored power to all affected transformer stations and 220kV lines. Power units in localities are continuing to check the safety of 110kV and 35kV lines and the primary grid to restore power.
All Power Companies from Quang Ninh to Thanh Hoa have re-inspected and set up shifts at all 110kV substations, power lines and critical grid locations. At the same time, human and material resources are ready to handle incidents in the area. By 22:30 on September 7, 10/10 power plants were restoring self-consumption power to prepare for startup and ready to connect to the grid.
“ To ensure safety, Quang Ninh Electricity Company separated the operation of 14 transformer stations right before the storm hit. Normally, it would be possible to restore it immediately because there are resources, but because Quang Ninh is the center of the storm when the incident occurs, we must focus on immediately restoring the basic power grid and transmission system to be ready to supply ” - the Minister informed and said that before the storm, the Ministry proactively directed to stop and reduce the power supply at the generators to ensure the safety of people, equipment and property, but the supply was still safe, ready for the general power source...
Regarding the coal and mineral sector, the Minister informed that to ensure safety, by 9:00 p.m. on September 6, 2024, all underground and open-pit coal mining units in the Quang Ninh area had stopped production and organized shifts according to regulations. Due to widespread power outages, the mines had run backup generators to pump water to prevent flooding in the mines. The situation in the Dong Trieu and Mao Khe areas remained stable.
For oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities, all units proactively responded to the storm; maintained a 24/7 duty regime to ensure smooth information; people and vehicles were evacuated to safe areas to avoid the storm.
Hydropower reservoir operations ensure compliance with safety procedures, and water levels in hydropower reservoirs in the Northern region have decreased. Water levels and inflows in the North Central region have decreased slightly.
As for ensuring the supply of petroleum, due to proactive preparation in advance, petroleum key enterprises in the provinces have prepared enough goods to supply within 2-3 days. Immediately after the storm, coordination activities can return to normal.
Regarding the work of ensuring the supply of food and essential goods, the Minister said that the supply is still guaranteed, so there is no sudden price increase. Only in traditional markets, the price of vegetables and fruits increased slightly. Due to storms, the transportation and supply of goods is locally difficult in some areas. Supermarkets are still open continuously, the supply is guaranteed. As of 9:00 a.m. on September 7, 2024, the shelves of major supermarkets in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Lang Son, Bac Kan were full of essential foods such as vegetables, fruits, pork, chicken, etc. The situation of people rushing to buy essential goods from the afternoon of September 6, 2024 is mainly due to a cautious mentality (not a shortage of goods).
Prioritize power supply, ensure enough gasoline and goods for people
To implement the work of overcoming the consequences of the storm, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that from 7:00 a.m. on September 8, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a meeting to assess the initial damage after storm No. 3 and propose solutions to overcome it. Immediately after that, a working group of the Ministry's functional agencies and the Chairman of EVN were sent directly to Quang Ninh and Hai Phong to give direct instructions on overcoming the problems caused by the storm.
In addition, the Ministry focuses on directing electricity units to promptly fix incidents, restore the damaged power system as quickly as possible, and have a technical contingency plan to maintain the stability of the power dispatch system when incidents occur; Prioritize power supply to industrial parks, manufacturing enterprises, and provide materials to support people in repairing houses and production facilities.
" By early this afternoon, the electricity industry will try to fix the problems of the 500, 220, 110KV lines and transformer stations to be ready to supply electricity again " - Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized and said that the industry's viewpoint has been to fix the problems of the lines and transformer stations while ensuring safe use of electricity, providing information and guidance to production facilities and people.
Along with that, the Ministry deployed a plan to mobilize vehicles, materials, equipment, and human resources in localities not or less affected by storm No. 3 to support localities with heavy damage to fix the broken power grid;
Directing the operation of hydroelectric reservoirs in accordance with procedures, paying attention to flood prevention due to storm circulation, contributing to reducing downstream floods. Important reservoirs such as Hoa Binh and Thac Ba increase spillway discharge; increase power generation to lower reservoir water levels to reserve capacity to receive floods due to storm circulation;
Directing units across the industry to prepare response plans in case of floods due to storm circulation, especially when some areas may be cut off and isolated due to floods;
Direct the Departments of Industry and Trade to closely monitor developments in the commodity market, direct businesses to ensure the supply of gasoline, essential goods to serve the people; direct key businesses to fully supply goods to serve production and people's lives;
Direct social media work, provide timely and complete information on the situation of ensuring the supply of electricity, gasoline, and essential goods to stabilize the market.
Based on that direction, to overcome the consequences of the storm, the Commander of the Industry and Trade sector also recommended:
Firstly , local authorities, especially those localities heavily affected by the storm, create the best conditions for the electricity sector and the industry and trade sector to overcome the problem so that they can generate and supply electricity to serve production, business activities and people's lives as soon as possible.
Second , local authorities are requested to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other ministries and branches to focus on directing key traders, distributors, and retail systems to maintain the supply of gasoline and essential goods to serve people's lives in all situations.
Direct the Department of Industry and Trade and local authorities to review and have plans to ensure the supply of goods, especially essential goods, from areas less affected by the storm to areas that need to be concentrated.
Third , the Ministry of Information and Communications is requested to urgently direct the repair and restoration of telecommunications and Internet services to serve the work of overcoming post-storm incidents and restoring electricity and gasoline supply; at the same time, direct the implementation of good communication work, promptly provide information on the direction of overcoming the consequences of storm No. 3 of the Government, ministries, branches and localities to create peace of mind and safety for people and businesses.
Fourth , it is recommended that ministries and branches (Army, Police) have plans to be ready to provide human resources, equipment, and specialized means of transport to support the electricity sector, the Industry and Trade sector, and localities to overcome the consequences of the storm and be ready to respond to situations arising from floods after the storm (if necessary).
Fifth , recommend that the Government allow energy sector units to increase their reserve of materials and replacement equipment after this event to promptly respond to natural disasters.
Previously, at 7:00 a.m. on September 8, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien chaired a meeting with relevant units to assess the initial damage after storm No. 3, and at the same time propose solutions to overcome the situation, focusing on three key issues: restoring power supply; ensuring the maintenance of gasoline for the market; and ensuring the supply of essential goods for the people.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien chaired a meeting with relevant units early in the morning of September 8 to make a preliminary assessment of the initial damage after storm No. 3 and propose solutions to overcome the consequences of storm No. 3.
The Minister directed the electricity sector units to urgently fix the problem, restore the damaged power system as quickly as possible, and have a technical contingency plan to maintain the stability of the power dispatch system when an incident occurs; Prioritize power supply to industrial parks, manufacturing enterprises, and provide materials to support people in repairing their houses and production facilities.
Immediately afterwards, the Ministry sent 3 Working Groups of the Ministry's functional agencies (Department of Industrial Safety and Environment; Electricity Regulatory Authority; Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority; Domestic Market Department; General Department of Market Management; NSMO) and the Chairman of EVN to go directly to Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh and give direct instructions to overcome the problems caused by the storm.
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