PC Quang Ninh has grown as strong as it is today thanks to the great efforts and determination of generations of employees.

One afternoon at the end of the year, in the excited and joyful atmosphere of the employees and workers together towards the 70th anniversary of the Vietnam Electricity Industry's Tradition Day (December 21, 1954 - December 21, 2024), we had the opportunity to visit Mr. Do Thanh Thai (85 years old), former Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Electricity, one of the people who have contributed a lot to the development of Quang Ninh Electricity Company today.

Receiving us at his private home in Group 8, Zone 1, Hong Ha Ward, Ha Long City, the former Deputy Director could not hide his joy. He confided: Every time the anniversary of the Electricity Industry's Traditional Day on December 21 approaches, my heart is filled with emotion, remembering the years of steadfastness with my comrades and colleagues contributing to the Quang Ninh Electricity Industry.

Looking at his agile figure and demeanor, rosy, healthy skin, no one would think that he was born in 1939, far beyond the age of "Thất thập cổ lai hy". After a few cups of fragrant tea, and a few greetings, the distance between us seniors and juniors was gone, but we felt extremely close and friendly. Stories about the past reminded Mr. Do Thanh Thai of historical milestones and unforgettable memories. With a radiant face, he excitedly told: The Cot 5 Power Plant in the old Hon Gai mine area was built by the French from 1920 to 1926. The purpose was to have electricity to serve the coal mining of the mine owners of the Bac Ky Coal Company, along with the plot to exploit our country's coal to bring it back to enrich the mother country.

Mr. Do Thanh Thai shared with the Communications Officer of PC Quang Ninh about his years of dedication to the development of the Electricity industry.

From 1920 to 1954, the factory initially had only 07 small boilers of 4 tons/hour and 04 generators with a capacity of 1000kW/machine. The total initial installed capacity was 4000kW. By 1939, the French capitalists installed 02 more boilers of 07 tons/hour and 01 generator of 4000kW, increasing the total installed capacity to 8000kW. But the actual operation reached 4000 to 6000kW. The power grid system behind the factory consisted of 04 transformers of 1,250 kVA and nearly 40 km of 30kV lines. The workforce of Column 5 Power Plant at that time was about 150 people, the majority of whom did heavy labor such as pushing slag and shoveling coal to burn the furnace. The number of technical workers was taken from Hai Phong, Nam Dinh or other vocational schools. The foremen and workers were trained by the French colonialists elsewhere to be their effective henchmen. In 1953, the demand for coal mining was increasing, so the factory owners bought more equipment from France and installed a 6000kW machine, increasing the total capacity of the factory to about 14,000kW with the aim of providing electricity for coal mining in the Hon Gai and Cam Pha areas.

Before 1954, the workers of the Column 5 Power Plant at that time also lived in the same miserable condition as thousands of other mine workers. Their wages were often cut, their lives were miserable in dilapidated camps, they produced electricity but had to use kerosene lamps. During the terrible days of the famine in 1945, more than 40 workers of the Column 5 Power Plant died of starvation.

Besides, there was the lavish life of the mine owners, the foreman class, the lavish parties, the shiny cars with dozens of servants such as nannies, cooks... That adversity gave rise to the spirit of "the last straw", increasing the resentment of the people who lost their country and their life of slavery. Led and guided by the Party, the workers of the Column 5 Power Plant were soon enlightened about the ideal of the working class, wholeheartedly following the revolution to rise up and fight against the oppression and exploitation of the mine owners and the ruling apparatus of the French colonialists. The flame of struggle was expressed through massive strikes, initially in the Cam Pha area, then spreading to Hon Gai.

Entering the period from 1954, the miraculous resistance of our nation came to victory, with the famous victory of Dien Bien Phu campaign. The Geneva Conference ended in victory, peace was restored. However, the country was temporarily divided, but with the tradition of heroic struggle and the indomitable spirit of the working class in the mining area, the workers of Column 5 entered the new struggle with high confidence. Since 1955, the mining area was liberated, peace returned to the whole North, the country entered the stage of building socialism towards national unification. From workers oppressed and enslaved under the yoke of colonialism, they are now the owners of the country. The workers of Column 5 Power Plant were excited to contribute their best to stabilizing and developing the power source to serve the country's coal mining.

The spirit of overcoming difficulties and daring to think and act of the workers of Column 5 Power Plant is further promoted. The staff of the Plant still has enough management skills, typically Mr. Do Van So - a veteran manager, Mr. Vu Dinh Bong - an electrical engineer assigned to the plant after the liberation day. The electricity from Column 5 Power Plant still shines day and night.

By 1958, due to the increasing demand for coal mining in the mine, the factory's capacity was too low, often generating only 3000 - 4000kW, especially the boiler system was seriously lacking. Our government had a policy to ask Poland to help build 2 more boilers with a capacity of 32 tons/hour. In 1960, it was completed and put into use, bringing the factory's capacity to 9000 to 10,000kW. At this time, a number of transformer stations and power transmission lines from 2 to 35kV were further developed, electricity not only served coal production but also served a number of handicraft industries, lighting and residential areas, markets... Also in the first 5-year plan (1961-1965), the State affirmed that it was necessary to increase investment in the electricity industry, a number of factories with the help of the Soviet Union were built, 110kV power lines were formed in Quang Ninh, the 110kV Uong Bi - Mong Duong power line and the 110kV Mong Duong station were built and completed in 1965.

After fierce bombings by the US imperialists, the Column 5 Power Plant still stands tall on the shore of Ha Long Bay.

During the resistance war against the US, despite heavy defeats on the southern battlefield, the US imperialists expanded their air war of destruction to the North, aiming to paralyze the socialist economy and prevent support from the rear to the front line. Their cunning plot was to attack key facilities, especially power plants and power stations...

For Quang Ninh province, the enemy's important targets were the Cot 5 Power Plant, the newly built Mong Duong 110kV station, and high-voltage power lines... The US sent all kinds of planes to bomb the plant day and night, hundreds of tons of bombs and bullets were dropped on a very small area, damaging a number of machinery and equipment such as: boilers, control panels, power lines, power stations, a number of employees heroically sacrificed for the cause of maintaining the electricity. With the slogan "When the enemy comes, we fight, when the enemy goes, we produce", in the rain of bombs and bullets of the enemy, the employees of the Cot 5 Power Plant still clung to the machines, clung to the furnaces to maintain the beloved electricity, Cot 5 electricity still shined on the ports and mines of Quang Ninh.

During this period, the Factory grew in all aspects, with a total of more than 500 employees, including 5 workshops, 1 team, 2 branches and 4 functional departments. The number of party members reached nearly 100 comrades, and the Party Committee was directly under the Party Committee of Hon Gai town. The self-defense force was organized into a battalion, with a special company that both produced and fought on C5 hill. Many employees represented the will to fight and win and the brave sacrifice in production, such as martyr Vo Quoc Quyen - Factory Director, along with 18 comrades who were employees of the Factory who fell to protect the safety of the electricity.

In 1972, the US invaders again crazily attacked the Socialist North on a larger scale, especially they used B52 aircraft to carpet bomb Hai Phong city and Hanoi capital. The Hon Gai Power Plant became a fierce target of the enemy. In particular, the bombing on May 9, 1972 and the bombing on September 12, 1972 almost completely destroyed the Plant. In early 1973, the Ministry of Coal and Electricity and the Northern Power Company dissolved the Plant's mission and transferred it to the Quang Ninh Electricity Management Department. From here, the mission of the workers of the Coal 5 Power Plant officially entered a new stage of development.

Former Deputy Director Do Thanh Thai shared: Entering the new phase, the difficulty at that time was that the local power grid was in a state of degradation because it had just gone through the resistance war against the US, and continued to face the war on the northern border, so the industry wanted to invest in developing the power grid system but lacked capital. However, overcoming the difficulties and hardships, generations of employees and workers have saved every penny of capital allocated by superiors to focus on developing the rural power grid. In particular, in addition to completing the power grid system in the central areas of the province, the Company also proposed and advised the industry and localities to continue investing and building power lines, along with a system of transformer stations to bring the national power grid to districts and communes in the province to help ethnic minorities soon have the opportunity to access the light of the Party, as well as improve people's knowledge, and carry out the work of hunger eradication and poverty reduction. On the other hand, the Company also proactively coordinates with relevant levels and departments to advise on the development of the Quang Ninh province's power development plan to meet the needs of management, operation and development of the power grid system in accordance with local realities.

In the flow of the story, I paused and asked: So after retirement, did you get information about your old unit? Pausing for a moment, then taking a sip of tea, Mr. Do Thanh Thai excitedly said: “Yes, although I have been retired for more than 20 years, every year, I still take time to return to the place where I devoted 41 years of work. During the annual meetings with retired cadres of the Company, listening to the reports of the Company's leaders and witnessing, I see that Quang Ninh's power grid is now developing so strongly. In particular, currently, Quang Ninh Power Company has a team of employees who are well-trained in their profession, solid in their profession to master equipment, machinery technology, especially information technology, digital transformation. Every time I visit the Company, seeing everyone wearing uniforms with the EVNNPC logo, enthusiastic, open and responsible towards customers and colleagues, I feel very happy”.

The conversation with engineer Do Thanh Thai, former Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Electricity, passed quickly. Through his sharing, we learned more about the history of Quang Ninh Electricity Company and were more grateful and appreciative of the contributions of previous generations, who overcame many difficulties to lay the foundation for the growth of Quang Ninh Electricity Company today. And above all, the Electricity industry has truly become an important driving force, contributing to the continuous development of the socio-economic development of Quang Ninh province.

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