Smart cities: intelligent infrastructure for Vietnam's grid

Smart cities: intelligent infrastructure for Vietnam's grid

If not already mesmerised by the traffic, visitors to Vietnam's large cities
often comment on the mass of cables that hang like jungle vines across the
streets.

Along with the ubiquitous motorcycle, the sight of electrical poles that
look more like birds' nests is emblematic of modern-day Vietnam. It is also
a clear sign that the country's power infrastructure has some serious
catching up to do.

As mentioned in last week's post, Vietnam has achieved significant growth
over the last couple of decades. Reforms have paved the way for
international trade and investment, as well as rising incomes for Vietnamese
citizens. The face of cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are changing
rapidly, with shiny new developments cropping up as far as the eye can see.
Many areas are unrecognisable compared to just ten or twenty years ago.
Power needs are marching in lockstep with growth. Electricity of Vietnam
(EVN) is the country's largest power company, and as of 2015 had a
transmission network of some 21,883 kilometres.

Faced with the challenge of urbanisation and industrialisation, Vietnam's
power industry has struggled to expand and improve the country's power
system, as evidenced by difficulties with developing new resources,
enhancing high-voltage transmission lines, and reducing transmission and
distribution losses.

The fact that tangled webs of cabling still hang between these buildings is
a clear sign that infrastructure needs to be developed. As well as posing a
danger to residents in densely-populated districts, the overburdened
electricity network causes sporadic brown-outs for local businesses, who are
forced to pause production while power is diverted to residential areas. In
fact, to deal with their own rolling blackouts, homes and small businesses
turn to small generators - an expensive and dirty stopgap.

The country's economic growth, while impressive, is putting the electricity
grid under constant strain. However, if new technology is harnessed and
innovations adopted for the creaking grid, the sight of smoke-spewing
generators will become a thing of the past.

Smart solutions

Facing and overcoming the challenges posed by this continuing expansion will
be a key priority for Vietnam's grid over the next few years. The addition
of renewables to the country's energy mix will complicate the situation
further, and necessitate some clever solutions to ensure the efficient
delivery of electricity to power-hungry industry and a demanding customer
base. Smart Grid technology could provide the required renovation.

In 2012, the Vietnamese government approved a "Smart Grid Development
Project in Vietnam", which sets out a roadmap for the development of Smart
Grids in the country. The project aims to automate and manage the
increasingly complex power network and meet the rising demands of
electricity users. Specifically, 'intelligent' grids would integrate
monitoring, protection and control systems to improve reliability and ensure
the most efficient use of existing infrastructure. Rather than the
prohibitively pricey job of overhauling infrastructure, technology can be
deployed to improve existing systems in the short term.

A $500-billion project, with funding approved by the World Bank, will focus
on the automation of distribution network operations and the introduction of
advanced metering systems at important substations. This will include
two-way communications systems to actively monitor power usage. Initially
the focus will be on the key distribution substations and larger electricity
users.

Improved availability of data will enable quick detection of potential
outages, allowing immediate decisions to be taken to improve overall grid
reliability.

EVN is partway through the project. Running parallel, the National Power
Transmission Corporation (NPT) has accelerated its own Smart Grid
development. Particular enhancements will include Substation Automation
Systems to improve communications and compatibility, as well as information
and monitoring systems to allow real-time power capability calculations
across the network.

On top of improvements to efficiency allowing for economic growth, a more
reliable network will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line
with the country's international commitments. Investments like this,
bringing the power network up to date, will ensure a stable electricity
supply to industries and households, reducing the need for alternative and
often more polluting fuels, such as coal and kerosene, to meet domestic
energy needs.

Putting projects into practice

In terms of concrete steps, foreign firms are already showing an interest.
In 2014, Trilliant, a US-based Smart Grid expert, signed a contract with EVN
HCMC, a subsidiary of EVN, for a smart grid project in Ho Chi Minh City. The
southern metropolis is a hub for commercial activity, thus intelligent power
distribution is fundamental to a successful future for the region.

Last year, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency provided technical
assistance to Electricity of Vietnam Central Power Corporation (EVNCPC),
another subsidiary of EVN, to help modernise their enterprise architecture
for Smart Grid deployment.

EVNCPC is developing an overall information technology (IT) and smart grid
strategy, including an implementation plan and investment schedule, to
improve the quality of supply to its customers. The technical assistance
will provide detailed recommendations to automate and upgrade IT systems in
order to integrate Smart Grid applications that can help EVNCPC efficiently
manage its operations and distribution, ultimately fuelling the sustainable
growth of the central region.

Putting this into action, Switzerland's ABB has signed up to provide
software to Pleiku and Tam Ky in central Vietnam. The firm's solutions will
help improve power supplies for the 250,000 inhabitants of these cities. ABB
has previously supplied similar systems to the cities of Da Nang, Hue, Qui
Nhon and Buon Ma Thuot, providing stable access to power for more than three
million people.

A stable supply

Smart Grid technologies will help achieve a more stable power supply and
improve the reliability of the transmission network. Continued
implementation, in the direction detailed above, will help increase power
transfer bandwidth between the north and the south, which will establish a
secure and reliable power supply. A stable supply means stable prices, and
provides opportunities that will attract investments and increase
competition in the marketplace.

Over time, this approach will allow the connection and operation of
Vietnam's mismatched network and enable the integration of renewable sources
to help reduce the country's carbon footprint across the whole power system.

Investors can expect greater market integration with neighbouring countries
and the chance to play a part in optimisation alongside consumers. Improved
reliability, quality and security are sure to make Vietnam's energy sector
an enticing proposition in the years to come.

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com