Increase electricity purchases from China and Laos

Increase electricity imports but worry about power lines

From today (May 24), Mong Cai city (Quang Ninh) put into operation the 110Kv Mong Cai (Vietnam) - Dongxing (China) line to serve the purchase of electricity from Shencau (China).

According to the agreement, China will supply electricity to Vietnam with a total maximum capacity of 70MW and 30 million kWh/month. In May, June and July 2023, the electricity received from China will be supplied to the 110kV Mong Cai station, Mong Cai city and 110kV Quang Ha station, Hai Ha district, Quang Ninh province.

Thus, Mong Cai City and Hai Ha District will use electricity supplied by China, contributing to reducing the difficulty in the power source of the Northern power system.

This is one of the measures reported by Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to the Government to cope with the tense power source situation.

During this period, EVN also purchased an additional 234 MW of electricity from hydropower plants in Laos. Electricity imports from Laos and China will be boosted, contributing to overcoming the power shortage in the coming time.

Electricity supply is in dire straits, with power cuts in many places. Photo: EVN

Of which, electricity imports from China are mainly through two border gates, Ha Giang and Lao Cai. However, the possibility of increasing the capacity of electricity imports from this country is not feasible due to the limitation of 220kV lines. Therefore, EVN is studying to import electricity through 500kV lines.

Due to the need to handle fluctuations in frequency and voltage, it is necessary to upgrade the power line and have a voltage conversion interface to bring electricity to Vietnam appropriately. This project is expected to be put into operation after 2025.

Regarding the import of electricity from Laos, EVN said it is signing contracts with investors to supply electricity in Laos with a capacity of 1,000 MW. In addition, the group is also urging investors to build power lines to soon bring electricity from Laos to Quang Nam province.

In addition, EVN also imports more through the completed power line system in Tuong Duong (Nghe An). The parties are waiting for the completion of the power line system in Laos to connect - this will be the route to increase electricity imports from this country.

Looking forward to saving electricity

As of May 11, all 12/12 large hydroelectric reservoirs in the Northern region had very poor water flow, the frequency of water flow to many reservoirs was the worst in the past 100 years.

In April and early May alone, water levels in reservoirs were only below 50% of the average for many years; some reservoirs were only 20%, causing a serious water shortage for hydroelectric reservoirs. In addition, the capacity and output of wind power plants also decreased sharply due to poor wind conditions, reaching only 5.6% of the installed capacity of the plants.

In particular, since the end of April, the hot weather has been severe and widespread with temperatures higher than the average of many years, causing the demand for electricity nationwide to increase, especially the demand for electricity of residential customers.

The load of the entire national power system on May 19 increased to a new record level, approximately 924 million kWh, the highest since the beginning of the year and an increase of 10.5% over the same period in May 2022; the maximum consumption capacity reached 44,600 MW, the highest since the beginning of the year and an increase of 8.5% over the same period in May 2022.

This poses a risk of power shortage for production and consumption if there are no more timely and drastic solutions; in which, using electricity economically and efficiently is considered one of the important and urgent solutions, contributing to ensuring enough power for economic development and social life in the coming time.

With almost no backup power source causing difficulties, on May 22, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had to organize a conference to launch a national electricity saving campaign in 2023 to provide and update information on the electricity supply situation and launch a nationwide electricity saving movement.

According to EVN, the solution is to increase electricity savings and encourage customers to adjust their electricity usage during peak hot hours. In recent days, the average daily electricity demand has decreased by more than 5.9 million kWh/day (of which, public lighting has saved about 900 thousand kWh/day).

The Northern Power Corporation said: As of the afternoon of May 23, in 27 northern provinces and cities where the corporation manages electricity sales, 21 localities have directed to promote and increase electricity saving in the area during the dry season and the whole year of 2023. These are Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, Nghe An, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc, Bac Kan, Lai Chau, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Ha Tinh, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Cao Bang, Son La, Hung Yen.

According to the Central Power Corporation, in the Central Highlands region, as of the morning of May 23, 9 provinces and cities have issued 'orders' to save electricity, including Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Quang Ngai.

How much is EVN buying electricity for? EVN buys electricity from many sources such as hydropower, coal-fired thermal power, wind power, solar power, gas turbines, and imports. Of these, hydropower is the cheapest, while coal-fired thermal power is very expensive due to high coal prices.

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