Song May 500 kV Substation (Dong Nai) is being built by EVNNPT, expected to be completed and put into operation by 4/ 2013. Photo: Ngoc Ha – TTXVN
*Urgent issue
The cities of Ho Chi Minh, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria- Vung Tau are evaluated as 4 provinces in the southern key economic, densely populated areas and having the highest power consumption in the country. Only in 2012, the commercial electricity output of these provinces reached 30.9 billlion kWh, accounted for 29.3% the total commercial electricity output of the country.
In the national power system, the North-South 500kV transmission line has 2 parallel curcuits in operation to transmit for all power plants from the North to the Central Hightlands and the South; among which the Southern regions are always overloading.
In this situation, the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) directed the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) to focus on developing the 500kV transmission line projects: Pleiku- My Phuoc- Cau Bong, Vinh Tan- Song May, Phu My- Song May and Song May- Tan Dinh to put into operation on schedule this year, to ensure that the increased load demands are met in the Southern region, in period 2014-2015. This is the national key project approved by the Prime Minister in the Master Plan on Power Development VII (Master Plan VII).
According to EVNNPT: The 500kV double circuit line Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong is 437.5 km long, with a total investment of over VND 9,288 billion. The transmission line run through 5 provinces: Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City. It is assigned by EVNNPT to the Central Power Projects Management Board (CPPMB) for management.
In addition to enhancing the North- South and meeting the increased load demand for Southern region for the next two years, the transmission lines also need to ensure the secure power supply to Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to the safe and economic operation of the power system, especially in case of high demands for power exchange between regions in the country. At the same time, this will create a premise for the importation of electricity from Laos to Vietnam and interconnection of transmission grids of Vietnam- Lao – Cambodia, after 2015.
The 500 kV Vinh Tan - Song May double circuit project, with a length of 237.53 km, has a total investment of over VND 2,988.4 billion. The project targets at evacuating power from Vinh Tan Power Plant to Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.
Initially, it is necessary to put the 220 kV transmission line from Vinh Tan to the crossover point of 220kV Ham Thuan-Phan Thiet transmission line to test for the power plant Vinh Tan 2 invested by EVN to meet the increased load demand in Southern region.
This transmission line also created a premise for connecting other potential big power plants in the South Central region such as nuclear power plants, pump storage hydropower plant, Van Phong power plants… with the National Power system. This work is estimated to be energized in May 2013 (phase 1) and in October 2013 (phase 2).
Apart from the two 500 kV transmission lines of Phu My-Song May and Song May-Tan Dinh evacuating power from Phu My, Ba Ria and Nhon Trach centres to the National power system, EVNNPT are promptly constructing and controlling the progress of each tower so that the project will be energized in the next two months, in order to reduce the overload in the Southeast transmission grid as well as to enhance the power supply to Dong Nai province and neighboring ones.
Constraints in site clearance
According to Mr. Luu Viet Tien - Director of EVNNPT’s Investment Management Department: By early April, the CPPMB has handed over foundation level for 815 positions of 500kv Pleiku- My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line to the contractors, of which Dak Lak province and Cu Chi district (Ho Chi Minh) has completed the site clearance. CPPMB is negotiating with the People’s Committee, the district Center for Land Development to organize the inventory, application of unit price to make a compensation plan and support the appraisal process as regulated.
However, the implementation of the project still faces many difficulties, mainly because households do not accept the compensation rate, land allocation and crops affected in the right of way. In particular, there is one location in Chu Pah district (Gia Lai province) that has not been transferred to the contractor yet. In Dong Phu District, constraints are met in 4 locations, because the households did not accept the compensation rate for land and rubber tree as regulated by Binh Phuoc province. The CPPMB and The Compensation Council have agreed to make the 3rd payment, but the households did not accept the compensation rate, land allocation and compensation for planted trees.
Mr. Le Duc Ngoc - CPPMB’s Deputy Head of Compensision Division , responsible for Binh Phuoc- Binh Duong line section and Ho Chi Minh City also expressed a concern that the slow land clearance has affected the construction progress. With 354 tower foundations, this transmission line currently has constraints on compensation in 90 foundations, including 20, 29 and 41 foundations in Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh city, respectively.
Currently, CPPMB is working with the district People’s Committee to complete the enforcement procedures in the remaining foundations by this April. Particularly, Cu Chi District is working on detailed plans for compensation and land acquisition decisions, and actively encourages households to receive compensation fee.
According to Mr. Tien, CPPMB is focusing on urging the contractor to complete the basic foundation to start the tower erection by early May. The foundation is expected to be completed in 6/2013 to deploy the tower erection, conductor strings to ensure the energization later this year.
The 500 kV Vinh Tan - Song May transmission line has 475 foundations, of which 15 foundations have not been handed over because the households have not been consistent with the compensation rate. In the right of way of entire route, there are 2,242 households affected, in which compensation plan has been approved for 771 households. The remaining 291 households did not accept the compensation rate and propose for higher one.
At present, EVNNPT continues deploying the projects to put into operation in the 2013-2014 period, such as: replacement of capacitor sets in 500kv Nho Quan- Ha Tinh transmission line; upgrade of capacity of 2 transformers to prevent overload in current transformers at 500kv Phu Lam, Tan Dinh substations to ensure the safe power supply for Ho Chi Minh city in the next years.