Energizing moment for Ban Giang village, Pa Cheo commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province.
Gradually remove "no electric" villages
The introduction of national grid electricity to Ban Giang village is the result of the efforts and determination of the government, the Power sector, and the people in implementing a new construction project including a 160 kVA-35/0.4kV substation; 6.8km of 35kV lines (2.7km of bare lines and 4.1km of underground cables); 1.4km of 0.4kV line, with a total investment of VND 10.9 billion. On the occasion of "Customer Appreciation Month", Bat Xat Power Unit also installed all the behind-the-meter wires to the homes of all 54 households in Ban Giang village for free.
Head of Ban Giang Village Sung A Sang happily shared that since there was an investment policy to build a substation in the village, people looked forward to it every day, but it took nearly four years for the dream of accessing electricity to come true.
According to Deputy Director of Bao Thang Power Unit Branch Vu Nghia Hung, because the people in the area were very poor when the national power grid covered this area, the Power Sector supported the people by pulling wires to each house, depending on the distance, it can be from a few dozen meters to 200-300m, install meters and light bulbs for free for each household.
Efforts to light up village roads
The above three projects represent rural power grid development projects that the Power Sector in particular and Lao Cai province have done for remote areas. All three projects are located in extremely difficult areas, with large investment rates, low business efficiency, and even large losses. For example, for the project to bring electricity to 128 households in Trat 1 and 2 villages with a total investment of VND 10.4 billion, the investment rate is VND 81.25 million per household; Or the power project in Ban Giang village, the investment cost is up to VND 10.9 billion just to provide electricity for 54 households, the average investment is VND 200 million per household. The problem is how many years it will take for the Power Sector to recover its capital, let alone become profitable, and there cannot be a solution if we only analyze the economic aspect without mentioning the social effects of the project.
Overall assessment of the program to bring electricity to rural areas in Lao Cai, Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong said: By the end of 2023, in Lao Cai province there were 100% of communes, wards, and towns having national grid electricity with the rate of groups, villages, and hamlets having national grid electricity reaching 99.87%; The rate of households using national grid electricity reached 97.6%. The results of the rate of households using electricity from the national grid achieved in 2023 will be the driving force for Lao Cai province to successfully implement the Resolution of the 16th Lao Cai Provincial Party Congress, striving to increase the proportion of households using national grid electricity to 98% by 2025.