Assessing the Vietnam - US cooperation in the power sector

Chairman of the Member Council of EVN Duong Quang Thanh (right) receives a GE representative on February 26, 2019

According to EVN assessments, Vietnam - US cooperation in the energy sector, recent years, reached clear efficiency in the following energy fields:

1/ US provided Vietnam with training and technical support to modernize the national power system:

In the period from 2010 to 2020, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided for EVN the important technical assistance programs and projects (IT Roadmap for National Power Transmission Corporation, technical support to the development plan and master architecture of information technology for smart grids in Central Power Corporation in the period of 2015 - 2020 with a vision to 2025, studying the power storage systems and developing LNG power projects in Vietnam) with the amount of nearly 3.6 million USD.

Besides, the training programs, expert support, and study tours in the United States organized by USTDA, the United States International Cooperation Agency (USAID), the Office of Technical Support under US Treasury supported EVN a lot in the fields of smart electricity, renewable energy, and sustainable finance.

In particular, the Technical Cooperation Office (the US Treasury) provided the experts for financial support for EVN to promote financial capability and sustainable management.

The EVN - USAID cooperation on assessing the impact of the distracted solar power projects on EVN financial situation. Only in 2015 – 2016, USTDA organized 4 teams of experts, including EVN experts to study and directly visit the smart electricity grids and energy storage systems.

The technical support of USTDA has achieved active results in Da Nang city as today, every customer in Da Nang can monitor the meter readings of the hourly electricity consumption, and the technical breakdowns on the power grid are automatically warned.

Based on Vietnam- US Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy (Agreement 123) signed in 2014, GE-Hitachi Company supported to train the nuclear power engineers for the Electricity University, Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi companies organized many seminars on the nuclear power technology developed by US (AP1000, ESBWR), the procedures and orders for construction licensing and supporting human resource training for developing nuclear power projects…

EVN and USAID signed an agreement to cooperate in technical assistance to promote the development of rooftop solar power in Vietnam (December 14, 2020)

2/ The Investment cooperation in equipment supply for ensuring national energy security:

In the period 2010 - 2020, Vietnam's power system was one of the power systems with the highest growth rate in the world. In 2020, the national sale electricity was 216.83 billion kWh, and increases 2.53 times compared to the date in 2010 (85.6 billion kWh), corresponding to the average growth rate of 9.7 %/year in the 2011 – 2020 period.

Well recognizing that developing power plants is a key factor for meeting the growing electricity demand and ensuring national energy security, EVN always attaches much importance to cooperative relationships with the US – ASEAN Business Council, the large US enterprises as GE, ExxonMobil, AES, and banks, financial institutions.

The US power groups as GE, Alstom, ExxonMobil have the efficient cooperation are the important equipment suppliers for EVN power plants and transmission power grid. GE group signed a Minutes with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on developing in Vietnam 1,000 MW of wind power projects and investing in EVN – GE Recovery Center for Gas Turbines in Phu My.

According to GE information, at present, there are 82 engineers working in this center that obtained benefits of 5.2 million US$ from 2016.

3. Exploiting the cooperative potential through organizing events in calling for investment, supporting information technology and technique.

Through MoIT direction, EVN in cooperation with the US embassy in Vietnam organized two dialogue forums on Vietnam – US energy security in Hanoi (2018) and in the US (2019). US embassy also provided EVN with an ENR report on assessing and recommending power connection and exchange in Mekong River Region (April/2020)

Continuously in 2015 – 2016, EVN in cooperation with GE organized 7 large seminars on exchanging the new technologies as:

- The seminar on H generation of GE gas turbines (November/2011)

- The seminar on smart electricity grids and the electricity wholesale market (February/2016)

- The seminar on a digital solution for power plants and transformation substations (December/2015).

- The technical exchanges on complying management and risk administering.

- The exchanges on technology and configuration of HA generation of GE gas turbines.

- GE shared experience on communications

In order to modernize the national power system and successfully digital transform it, as well as to ensure financial resources for development investment, it is very important and urgent for EVN to promote international cooperation.

VER.