On September 30, 1992, the Minister of Energy signed a Decision to establish the Production Preparation Board of NLDC under Power Company 1.
On April 11, 1994, NLDC was established under Decision No. 180 NL/TCCB-LD of the Ministry of Energy, a unit under the Ministry of Energy; with the core task of commanding and operating the power production, transmission, and distribution system in the national power system, in order to achieve optimal technical and economic results; ensuring the national power system operates continuously, reliably and safely.
Late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet directly directs the energization of the North-South 500kV transmission line in 1994. (Photo: Industry and Trade Magazine)
On May 27, 1994, late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet visited the dispatch room of NLDC to direct the energization of the 500kV North-South line. Witnessed by leaders of the Party and State, the Ministry of Energy, departments, branches, and units, the Center's engineers successfully energized the 500kV line. For the first time, the 4 units of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant were energized with the Southern Power System at 19:07 on May 27, 1994, becoming a historical milestone in the unification of the power system in the whole country, marking a new step in the development of the Vietnamese power system in general and the power system dispatch work in Vietnam in particular.
On October 24, 1995, in Decision No. 559 NL/TCCB-LD of the Ministry of Energy, NLDC was transferred to the Vietnam Electricity Corporation (now Vietnam Electricity Group - EVN). NLDC became a member unit under EVN. The new task assigned to the Center is to directly manage all power plants with a capacity of over 30MW in order to effectively exploit the power plants, ensuring a safe and stable power supply for electricity needs nationwide.
Implementing the Government's policy on reforming State-owned enterprises, on December 31, 1998, with Decisions No. 82, 83, 84/QD-BCN of the Ministry of Industry, the Northern, Central, and Southern Load Dispatch Centers were merged with the National Load Dispatch Center, creating a unified NLDC with two levels of national load dispatch and regional load dispatch. The entire Center undertakes the task of directly operating the power system including power plants with a capacity of over 30MW, the transmission system from voltage level of 110 - 500kV
Server system at NLDC-A0 - Photo taken in 2008. (Photo: Industry and Trade Magazine)
Pursuant to Decision No. 144/EVN/HDQT-TCCB.LD dated May 12, 1999 and Decision No. 173/EVN/HDQT-TCCB-LD dated June 19, 1999 of EVN, NLDC has 5 main functions: Firstly, establish the operating method and command the operation of the national power system from the transmission to the distribution of electricity according to the approved task process and decentralization of the national power system dispatch; Secondly, manage the SCADA system (control, dispatch, data collection and management)/EMS (energy management system) serving production; Thirdly, consulting activities in the field of preparing pre-feasibility study reports, feasibility study reports, designing and installing protection relay systems and automating power systems, SCADA/EMS systems and specialized computer systems and other services related to calculating power systems, electrical equipment, applying information technology and control to production activities; Fourthly, managing, designing, installing, maintaining and repairing telecommunications information systems serving production and business activities in the power system according to EVN's decentralization regulations; Fifthly, implementing scientific research topics and applying them to production.
In 2004, the Center took on the additional function of participating in the design of EVN's internal electricity market and directly operating this electricity market from January 2007 to July 2007. With the Center's contributions, EVN's internal electricity market was assessed as very successful and an important premise for the formation of an official competitive electricity generation market.
On August 1, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 753/QD-TTg approving the policy of transferring the right to represent the State capital ownership at National Electricity System and Market Operation Company Limited (NSMO) - formerly A0 from the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Specifically, approve the policy on transferring the right to represent State capital ownership at NSMO from CMSC to the Ministry of Industry and Trade after completing the separation and establishment of NSMO in accordance with the law and Decision No. 752/QD-TTg dated August 1, 2024, of the Prime Minister.