Reporter: Could you please tell us how the modernization of the grid has been and is being implemented by EVNHANOI?
Mr. Le Anh Duong: Currently, EVNHANOI is selling power to about 2.5 million customers and managing and operating the grid system of 46 transformer stations (220-110kV), more than 914km of 110kV lines, more than 5,000km of medium-voltage lines and nearly 4,000km of underground cable, ensuring to serve important political, social and foreign affairs activities of the central and city, meeting the socio-economic development needs of the capital - a city with over 9 million people, with power consumption growing at an average rate of nearly 10% per year.
Over the past time, the corporation has proactively applied new technologies to modernize the power grid. We have applied live-line power repair technology; unmanned transformer stations; developing and exploiting remote operating data collection system; applying software for technical management, reliability management of power supply, equipment management on digital maps, etc. In which, live-line power repair technology helps to quickly and promptly fix problems on the grid without outage.
Reporter: How about improving service quality, sir?
Mr. Le Anh Duong: EVNHANOI continues to synchronously implement solutions to increasingly improve service quality, such as: Standardizing the model of customer transaction offices at 81 headquarters and transaction offices; improving the Customer Care Center and customer care website system in a professional and modern direction. Currently, all electricity service procedures are provided online and connected to the National Public Service Portal, the Electronic Communication Portal of districts and towns of the city.
Through online applications, we provide other additional utilities such as: Electrical information lookup service; customer care on social networking platforms; diversifying forms of payment. Up to now, the percentage of customers making non-cash payments is 99.7%.
EVNHANOI applying science and technology for grid management. Photo source: EVNHANOI.
Reporter: Could you tell us what efficiency has the modernization of the power grid brought to your business?
Mr. Le Anh Duong: With the synchronous implementation of many solutions, including the application of grid modernization technology, the rate of power loss has decreased, the commercial power output increases every year. In 2019, the corporation has completed early the grid reliability indicators. In particular, the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) was 94,411 minutes which decreased by 291,389 minutes compared to 2018’s and 10 times compared to 2015’s.
Through the investment in upgrading the electricity metering system, in 2020, the recording of meter readings has been basically performed automatically by the telemetry application. This helps increase transparency in the readings, and at the same time improves the quality of customer service.
According to our calculations, the Customer Satisfaction Index of the entire EVNHANOI in 2019 reached an average of 8.20 points, an increase of 1 point compared to 2015. The access-to-electricity index in 2019 was 3.93 days, which was 3.07 days lower than the Vietnam Electricity Group's 7-day regulated rate and 4.8 days lower than 2015’s.
Reporter: In the coming time, EVNHANOI will continue to apply new technologies to grid operation, sir?
Mr. Le Anh Duong: EVNHANOI is to promote the application of automation technology in electricity operation and trading, specifically: Monitoring operating conditions of equipment in remote 110kV and 220kV transformer stations; construction of digital transformer stations; widely deploying live-line electricity repair technology, and so on.
Reporter: Thank you very much!