For the past 30 years, the 500kV North-South power line has affirmed its role as a "vital artery." However, this "highway" for power transmission has become overloaded since 2020, as the demand for inter-regional grid connections has doubled. Therefore, the Government has issued decisive directives, mobilizing the entire political system to "unlock" the abundant power supply to serve the country's development.
Engineers and technical workers are working day and night to urgently implement the 500kV circuit 3 power line project through Thanh Hoa province.
The urgent need for electricity in Northern Vietnam.
During the period of 2016-2020 and even before that, the 500kV North-South transmission line served the "mission" of bringing electricity from the North to the Central region and onward to the South. However, since 2020, this ultra-high voltage line has frequently been overloaded, having to "supply" approximately 49 million kWh of electricity daily from the Central and Southern regions to the North.
According to the National Power Transmission Corporation - the operator of the 500kV North-South transmission line - in recent years, when the North enters the peak dry season from April to July, the power grid frequently has to carry a load of 2,500 - 2,600MW, and at times even reaches the system's limit of 2,800MW to meet about 12.5% of the total power demand for the North. In particular, some sections such as Da Nang - Vung Ang, Vung Ang - Ha Tinh - Nho Quan, and Ninh Binh - Bim Son have been placed on alert at many times when the load capacity exceeds the safe limit.
According to the Institute of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, electricity has been and will continue to be "flowing in the opposite direction" in the coming period, as the North has not been able to develop many new power sources. Meanwhile, electricity demand is constantly increasing due to the development of new economic zones and industrial parks, and the weather is predicted to continue to be extreme.
According to the analysis and assessment of the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the power supply in the North mainly depends on hydropower and thermal power. Under favorable circumstances, the North's power structure will consist of approximately 43% from hydropower, 48% from coal-fired thermal power, and 9% from imports; however, during periods of difficulty due to climate change, hydropower is unstable and continuously declining sharply. For example, in 2023, hydropower only met 27.5% of the demand when 12 large hydropower reservoirs simultaneously experienced the lowest water levels in a century.
In the first few months of 2024, hydrological conditions continued to deteriorate. To maximize water conservation in hydropower reservoirs, thermal power generation was maximized to 50%. However, thermal power generation is also facing difficulties due to the increasing scarcity and continuously rising price of coal. Meanwhile, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are unevenly distributed and concentrated, with 99% of them located in the South and Central regions.
In Thanh Hoa province, according to the Department of Industry and Trade, electricity supplied to the national grid comes from 19 operating power plants with a total capacity of over 2,488 MW. These include 13 hydropower projects with a total capacity of 610.66 MW; 2 thermal power plants with a total capacity of 1,800 MW; 1 solar power plant with a capacity of 30 MW; and 3 biomass power plants with a total capacity of 47.7 MW. While the supply from the two thermal power plants is substantial, the high cost of input fuels is causing difficulties for businesses, and the supply from hydropower remains uncertain due to its dependence on hydrological conditions.
For example, from 2023 to the present, the Trung Son Hydropower Plant has continuously faced difficulties in meeting the dispatching requirements of the National Power System Dispatch Center (A0) in terms of time and capacity. This is due to the hydropower reservoir facing a dead water level. The water shortage and drought situation continued into early 2024. Mr. Le Tan Duy, Head of the Safety Engineering Department of Trung Son Hydropower Company Limited, stated: “In the first six months of the year, the plant only generated 257.69 million kWh of electricity for the grid. Although this figure represents a 42% increase compared to the same period last year, it only reached 27.5% of the plan assigned by the Northern Power Corporation for the year.”
While supply is facing difficulties, electricity demand in the North continues to rise. Across the entire region, the current growth in power capacity is about 10% lower than the region's electricity demand. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the current available capacity of all sources in the North is 17,500 - 17,900 MW. Meanwhile, demand is around 20,000 MW and could reach 23,500 - 24,000 MW during hot weather. Therefore, it is estimated that the North will face a daily shortage of 30.9 million kWh, and this could reach a peak of 50.8 million kWh during extreme weather conditions.
In particular, electricity demand peaked this summer, and peak load capacity set a new record. For example, on June 19th, the national power system's peak capacity reached 49,533 MW; national electricity consumption on June 14th also peaked at 1.025 billion kWh. The National Power System Dispatch Center had to develop methods and manage the power system, build power supply scenarios, and weekly update factors on electricity production, load demand, and hydrological developments to proactively plan and adjust the power system's operation with the goal of ensuring sufficient electricity supply in all situations.
Mr. Hoang Hai, Director of Thanh Hoa Power Company, said: “Thanh Hoa is one of the provinces with the highest electricity consumption in the North. With the strong development of Nghi Son Economic Zone and industrial parks, according to calculations by the Northern Power Corporation, the electricity demand in Thanh Hoa is forecast to increase by 10% or more per year. For example, in the first months of 2024, when the economic situation showed many positive changes, some industrial and construction customers showed signs of good recovery, and the economic sectors experienced relatively high growth, the total commercial electricity output in the province for the first six months reached over 3.77 billion kWh, a growth of 12.15% compared to the same period. In the first seven months of 2024, the daily power capacity in Thanh Hoa increased by 14.8% compared to the same period, and the daily output (Amax) for the first seven months also increased by 15.8% compared to the same period.”
This summer, the intense and widespread heatwave also caused the peak power (Pmax) in Thanh Hoa to reach its highest level ever. Actual measurements from the remote control center of Thanh Hoa Power Company show that in June 2024, the province's Pmax reached 1,468.3 MW. Notably, on June 21st and 22nd, the power reached its highest peak ever. Specifically, on June 21st, the province's Pmax reached 1,468.3 MW, and on June 22nd, it reached 1,406.3 MW.
Tireless effort
Many energy experts believe that the transmission sector is not attractive to investors because the average time to deploy a transmission line is many times longer than a power generation project due to the cost and time involved in compensation and land clearance. In addition, the current transmission unit price is quite low, which is a decisive factor for projects funded by both state and private capital.
However, to urgently supply electricity to the Northern market, meet the needs of production and business, and attract foreign investment, key transmission projects have been urgently directed for implementation by the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In particular, the national key project, the 500kV circuit 3 transmission line from Quang Trach (Quang Binh) to Pho Noi (Hung Yen), is being hailed as a miracle with the shortest implementation time in the history of Vietnam's electricity sector. This project also demonstrates bold, pioneering planning and the spirit of national unity!
Regarding the 500kV transmission line project from Nam Dinh 1 Thermal Power Plant to Thanh Hoa: As of February 19th, Thanh Hoa province had completed the handover of all 133/133 tower foundation sites; as of May 18th, all 55/55 spans of the project had been handed over to the investor. Regarding the Quỳnh Lưu - Thanh Hóa 500kV transmission line project: As of March 4th, Thanh Hóa province had completed the handover of all 166/166 tower foundation locations; as of May 29th, all 82/82 span locations had been handed over to the investor. |
To successfully implement this project, it can be said that the entire political system of the country has united, from resolving difficulties in mechanisms and policies to land clearance, mobilizing human resources and equipment, and organizing construction. As if by a historical coincidence, the spirit of determination, daring to think, daring to act, daring to take responsibility, along with the enthusiasm for creative labor, courage, and sacrifice of tens of thousands of "warriors," is recreating the beautiful images of 30 years ago.
On this massive construction site, stretching 519km across 211 communes and wards in 43 districts and towns across 9 provinces, the spirit of rapid construction, the motto "only talk, don't talk," "overcoming sun and rain," "eating quickly, sleeping urgently," "working 3 shifts, 4 teams," and "working through holidays and Tet" seem to have become a "command" from the heart, motivating the courageous and self-sacrificing spirit of thousands of transmission "soldiers," cadres, and technical workers throughout the harsh construction site of Central Vietnam.
And today, the miracle of faith and unity is about to bear fruit. In just over 6 months, 4 component projects of the 500kV circuit 3 transmission line and auxiliary works have been basically completed. In particular, on June 30th, the section of the transmission line from Nam Dinh Thermal Power Plant to Thanh Hoa was completed and energized. On June 28th, the Thanh Hoa 500kV substation was also completed. Previously, several other connecting transmission lines along the route had also been completed, promptly relieving the load on the 500kV grid from Central to Northern Vietnam.
Thanh Hoa joins forces to continue writing the "heroic epic of history".
Implementing the key 500kV circuit 3 project in Thanh Hoa is both an honor and a source of pride, but it also places immense responsibility on the shoulders of the Party committees and authorities at all levels, given the enormous workload and extremely urgent requirements. Thanh Hoa has the highest number of tower foundations (299/1,177); and is also one of the two provinces with the longest power line (131km/519km). The first difficulty is the enormous amount of work requiring land clearance, spanning 11 districts and towns in the province.
Inspection and maintenance of valves and equipment at Nghi Son 2 BOT Thermal Power Plant.
It can be said that no other project has seen such intense and decisive involvement and direction from the Party committee in land clearance as this one. By applying the State's policies and mechanisms correctly, fully, and flexibly, ensuring the rights of the people, and employing skillful and flexible public relations work, Thanh Hoa has become one of the first three provinces along the entire route to complete land clearance, ahead of the deadline committed to the Prime Minister.
Early land clearance created favorable conditions for construction organization. Although the volume of pole foundations and anchor points was many times greater than in other localities along the entire route, the proportion of construction work items in Thanh Hoa province was always "one step ahead". In particular, on the section of the power line passing through Thanh Hoa, the first contract package - package number 39 passing through Nga Son district - was completed earliest on the entire route. The Nam Dinh 1 Thermal Power Plant - Thanh Hoa project had 133 out of 180 pole foundation locations in the province completed on schedule on June 30th.
According to Deputy Director of the National Power Transmission Corporation Luu Viet Tien, the Nam Dinh 1 Thermal Power Plant - Thanh Hoa Project, the Thanh Hoa 500kV Substation, and especially the packages passing through the province, have been facilitated in terms of land acquisition. In some areas, such as Nga Son and Thieu Hoa districts, land clearance has achieved record results. These are the prerequisites for the project's success.
Not only did the community of businesses and contractors in Thanh Hoa wholeheartedly contribute to the land clearance work, but they also made significant contributions to the success of this special project. It is an honor and a source of pride that the first contractor to complete a package along the entire route was a local contractor – Phuong Hanh Co., Ltd. Northern Electromechanical Co., Ltd., located in the Northwest Ga Industrial Park, Dong Tho, Thanh Hoa City, is also one of the few domestic enterprises participating in the production and supply of steel poles and delivered them ahead of schedule to the construction contractor.
Following the directives of the Prime Minister and the determination of the Vietnam Electricity Group, the National Power Transmission Corporation, and the contractors, it is expected that on September 2nd, the entire 500kV circuit 3 transmission line will be completed, energized, and inaugurated, doubling the joy in the national triumphant celebration on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the country's National Day!
On December 21, 1954, President Ho Chi Minh visited and had a cordial conversation with the staff and workers of the Yen Phu Power Plant – the place that produced the "immortal electricity" during the resistance war against the French and the years of American bombing of North Vietnam. There, he instructed: "The Fatherland needs electricity like the body needs blood," and "Saving electricity is preserving the 'lifeline' for each family as well as the entire economy." Nearly 70 years have passed, but Uncle Ho's teachings remain as valuable as ever, even more relevant than ever, as the need for energy to serve the industrialization and modernization of the country becomes increasingly urgent. |
Text and photos: Minh Hang
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Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/to-quoc-can-dien-nhu-co-the-can-mau-bai-1-vuot-rao-can-khoi-dong-dien-221600.htm
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