State-owned enterprise Electricity Vietnam (EVN) has accelerated digital transformation over the past several years, improving management and production efficiency and creating added value. It aims to complete digital transformation by the end of this year and make itself a digital enterprise by 2025. It expects automated production will facilitate the uninterrupted, stable, and safe operation of its electricity system and improve service quality for customers.
EVN recently announced plans to nominate three of its self-developed automated products as “Make in Vietnam” products to contribute to the government’s national digital transformation programme. The three are among the six selected “Make by EVN” products developed by its affiliates, including:
- A three-phase electricity gauge, an EVN electric vehicle charger, and a smart remote fault indicator (SRFI) and fault diagnosis scheme (FDS)
- An outage management system (OMS)
- A remote data collection software EVNHES
- The load dispatch digitalisation project
The “Make by EVN” programme was launched last year, according to an official. Under the programme, the group sets to have ten “Make by EVN” and three “Make in Vietnam” products by 2025 in accordance with its digital transformation roadmap.
To further promote automation, EVN has been active in developing and applying new automation solutions when installing transmission lines, transformer stations, and control centres. It also deployed the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management System (SCADA/EMS), which retrieves data and alarms, and enables control of power systems remotely, with the integration of an energy management system.
EVNHES is the only system in Vietnam able to connect with all types of devices in EVN’s power network. It has been widely deployed by EVN units to collect data from meters remotely. Additionally, the company has launched unmanned transformer stations and control centres to enhance productivity. Currently, EVN has 804 unmanned transformer stations across the country, and each city and province has at least a control centre connected with these stations.
By 2025, the EVN will complete its transformation into a digital enterprise, developing an advanced load dispatch system, and widely applying smart grid technology. It has set a goal of running remote control and unmanned operation for 100% of its 110kV stations in the 2021-2025 period and 100% of the 220 kV stations in the 2025-2030 period.
By 2030, the group aims to establish a science and technology institution housing up to two laboratories. In the 2030-2045 period, its laboratory facilities and equipment for applied research in electricity-related fields are expected to reach an advanced level, on par with developing countries in the region. Furthermore, EVN will work to improve the quality of its power distribution and customer services. It will modernise and professionalise its business, with a target of becoming among the top three ASEAN member states in terms of customer services from 2025 and maintaining this position until 2045.
The government issued the national digital transformation programme in 2020. It aims to make Vietnam a stable, prosperous digital country that pioneers new technologies and models to boost economic growth.