Revisions proposed for Vietnam’s smart grid future

The share of renewable energy has significantly increased Vietnam’s power production Photo: GIZ

The recommendations were presented at a March 15 virtual event co-hosted by the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), and the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

At the workshop, local experts from BK-Contech presented their comprehensive research on Vietnam’s smart grid development and identified challenges facing its electricity system. Based on that, international experts presented smart grid indexes based on evaluating Vietnam’s development progress with benchmarking of international best practices before offering recommendations.

The eight smart grid indicators include green energy, the energy market, supply reliability, data analytics, monitoring and control, customer satisfaction, cybersecurity, and integration of distributed energy resources.

Markus Bissel, director of GIZ’s Smart Grids for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SGREEE) project said, “Our experts have provided in-depth analysis and concrete proposals for revision of the roadmap. The adjustments will improve the performance of the power sector, reduce the need to invest in the networks, and encourage a more efficient integration of renewable energy.”

SCREEE senior project officer Duong Manh Cuong emphasised that among the recommendations, it is needed to extend the applications of distribution management systems and advanced versions to include applications for switching schedules and to promote cooperation between transmission and distribution system operators for congestion management.

The share of renewable energy has increased significantly in Vietnam’s power production, but the transition is challenging grid management despite the government’s constant investment.

To upgrade the power transmission system, the government approved a strategy for developing the smart grid in 2012, which now needs to be updated.

The workshop was part of the SGREEE project, which is being jointly implemented by ERAV, the MoIT, and GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Under the project, the Smart Grid Vietnam Knowledge Hub and Smart Grid Vietnam Network Facebook group were created.