Smart Grid to Enhance Power Transmission in Vietnam

Over the last few decades Vietnam has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty and positioning its economy on a sustainable growth path. As a consequence of robust economic growth, electricity demand in Vietnam grew at an average of 14 percent annually over the last decade. With electricity consumption nearly matching generation in recent years and insufficient investment in new power plants, the electricity grid is under constant strain by the growing economy. Realizing the large technical, institutional, and financial challenges posed by this level of expansion will be a key priority for Vietnam’s grid system operators in the short term. In 2012, the Government of Vietnam (GoV) approved the smart grid development project in Vietnam which outlines a smart grid roadmap for Vietnam. The project is aimed at the integration of new monitoring, protection and control systems to improve grid reliability and make efficient use of infrastructure while facilitating future integration of scaled-up renewable energy options. The national power transmission corporation (NPT) has already started progressing some of the smart grid initiatives for transmission identified in the roadmap, such as, the deployment of substation automation system (SAS) and wide area monitoring systems (WAMS) as well as an information system for operation and supervision. To support GoV’s efforts, the World Bank has closely engaged with NPT, the electricity regulator authority of Vietnam (ERAV) and the national load dispatch center (NLDC) to refine the existing smart grid roadmap on the basis of the lessons learned from the international experience with smart grid development. This report presents the results of this technical assistance engagement funded by the energy sector management assistance program (ESMAP) and the Asia sustainable and alternative energy program (ASTAE) and consists of: (i) a technical analysis of Vietnam’s existing smart grid roadmap, and alternative and future options in volume one; (ii) cost-benefit and risk analyses of the smart grid options identified in the technical analysis in volume two; and (iii) considerations of regulatory and performance monitoring in volume three.