Special "employees"

At Son La Hydropower Plant - the largest hydropower plant in Southeast Asia, a special "employee" has been assigned by Son La Hydropower Company to monitor operations around the Plant for about 2 years. This “employee” – self-made by the Company – is equipped with smart environmental monitoring sensors and image processing analysis applications to inspect the condition of electrical cabinets, providing accurate information to operators.

According to the leader of Son La Hydropower Company, the application of AI-integrated robots aims to automate part of the repetitive work, help detect problems that are difficult to observe with the naked eye, and monitor locations with high risk factors. The application also gradually aims to test remote control and monitoring, reduce the number of people on duty, improve labor productivity, optimize production costs, etc. Notably, thanks to this robotic "employee," the plant's staff no longer need to enter or work in potentially hazardous areas, such as those with high-pressure tanks or high-voltage equipment.

Robot monitoring equipment at Son La Hydropower Company

Equipment monitoring robots are just one of the applications of AI technology at Son La Hydropower Company. At the end of 2024, the product "Digitalization and analysis of Francis hydraulic turbine characteristics data, serving the management and operation of hydropower plants" by the author group of Son La Hydropower Company was recognized by Vietnam Electricity as one of the 10 "Made by EVN" products. The product uses Engauge open-source software and AI algorithms, helping to improve the accuracy in hydropower plant operations, optimize water resources, and generation capacity. The product has been successfully applied at Son La and Lai Chau Hydropower Plants and transferred to Quang Tri Hydropower Plant. Because Son La Hydropower Company completely owns the source code, the product can also be expanded, further developed, and commercialized.

Artificial intelligence is also being applied by the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) to manage, monitor, and operate the "backbone of the power system". In particular, the "AI-based power transmission line management system" implemented by Power Transmission Company 2 is also a product recognized as Made by EVN in 2024. The automatic flight inspection of the transmission grid helps optimize the inspection volume in each flight, limit errors, and reduce the time and training requirements for the workforce. In addition, the AI ​​system also supports automatic editing, data arrangement, automatic image inspection, and equipment abnormality detection. To date, the AI system is still being continuously “trained” by EVNNPT units to improve work efficiency continuously.

EVNNPT developed automated flight paths for UAVs to inspect power transmission grid

In the electricity business and services, power corporations thoroughly use AI technology, improving customer care efficiency. These are "virtual assistants", AI chatbots serving, receiving requests, and providing information. "AI staff" at the customer care Center are capable of serving many customers at the same time with consistent quality according to the process, working 24/7, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of customer service for electricity users in the digital space.

AI is increasingly popular and present in most aspects of EVN's operations. For example, with online meetings, the synthesis of meeting information is done by employees through typing and manual consolidation. This step also takes a lot of time and can be error-prone. Therefore, the Information Technology Company - Northern Power Corporation has deployed a solution to improve the monitoring and backup of software systems. Thanks to AI applications, it can take hours to synthesize and analyze meeting content; now it only takes a few minutes to complete this work. AI also helps to minimize errors, improve workflow, provide timely and accurate information to support decision making, and monitor work progress after the meeting, etc.

"New wind" in EVN

The promotion of AI application - the result of the 4.0 industrial revolution - is one of the clear evidences of the efforts of the EVN Party Committee and EVN in urgently and promptly implementing Resolution 57-NQ/TW dated 22 December 2024 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation.

AI helps the apparatus at units within EVN become increasingly streamlined and professional through automating procedural processes, supporting data analysis, and forecasting.

For AI, EVN has a policy of approaching and applying it systematically and comprehensively. In Action Program No. 40, EVN aims to establish specialized databases and data centers for the Power industry. This is the basis for providing artificial intelligence platforms in analysis problems, calculating the optimal operation of power plants, transmission grids, and efficient distribution.

In addition, EVN emphasized the view that ensuring network security, data security, and information security in cyberspace of organizations and individuals is a continuous and inseparable requirement in the process of developing science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

From human factors to processes and technology, EVN is transforming strongly under the direction of Resolution 57-NQ/TW. In which, artificial intelligence is not only a technological solution, but also a driving force for innovative thinking and improving management capacity throughout EVN, building a modern, smart power industry, and serving society better and better.

Translator: Hải Yến