National Load Dispatch Center ensures stable operations of power systems
17:26 | 28/05/2014
The National Load Dispatch Center currently manages 92 power plants with total design capacity of nearly 31,000MW.
Prior to May 27, 1994, Vietnam had three independent power systems, one in the north, one in the south and one in the central region, with the highest voltage of transmission lines reaching 220kV. Therefore, putting into operation 500kV power transmission lines to integrate these three systems was not easy. With the assistance of foreign experts, especially those from Australia, the technical staff of the National Load Dispatch Center had carried out careful preparations to activate 500kV North-South power transmission lines and ensure safe, stable operations of the national grid.
On May 27, 1994, late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet came to the National Load Dispatch Center to provide guidance for putting 500kV North-South power transmission lines into operation, marking a historical milestone of the Vietnamese electricity sector.
In 2004, the National Load Dispatch Center began to prepare for the formation and development of the electricity market. Thanks to its careful preparations in terms of human resources and technical facilities, the competitive power generation market has been put into operation on schedule, effectively using hydropower reservoirs. The electricity market has operated in a stable and continuous manner without any interruption even when incidents occurred with the national grid, ensuring uninterrupted power supply for production and people’s lives.
Over the last two decades, the electricity output has continuously increased from 12.3 billion kWh to 131 billion kWh with the maximum capacity of the entire system growing from 2,790MW to 21,200MW. The National Load Dispatch Center currently manages 92 power plants with total design capacity of nearly 31,000MW, eight times higher compared with 20 years ago. The center provides guidance for dealing with incidents which occur on the power grid with an 110kV or higher voltage, with wires totaling 32,655km, 3.3 times higher compared with 1998.
Along with guiding and managing power generation, in recent years, the National Load Dispatch Center has carried out many important projects such as improving the capabilities of power transmission regulation centers, installing 181 remote terminal units (RTUs) and telecommunications equipment at existing 110kV power stations, installing new SCADA/EMS systems at four load dispatch centers (A0, A1, A2, A3), building information technology infrastructure catering for the operation of and supervision over the competitive power generation market, preparing for investment in facilities which are capable to record incidents occurring on the national grid, hiring foreign consultants to assess, analyze and propose solutions to improve the stability and reliability of the national grid. The National Load Dispatch Center has utilized its human resources to ensure the highest effectiveness and quality of these complicated projects.
In the time to come, Vietnam will develop renewable energy resources and nuclear power along with large-scale projects to build regional grid connections and a smart grid. Therefore, the National Load Dispatch Center is upgrading its technical facilities and improving its capability so that it can manage the operations of the national grid in a flexible and safe manner, paving the way for the competitive electricity market to be activated.
Source: Ngoc Loan - VEN
