Vietnam, RoK to boost electrical ties

The Korean firms attending the event specialise in manufacturing equipment like transformers, solid reclosers and energy storage systems besides advanced OMR/AMR (offsite meter reading/automatic meter reading) solutions, billing systems and others.

Luan Quoc Hung, deputy director of EVN HCM City’s technical department, said his company’s System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), a measure used as a reliability indicator by power utilities, has improved from 28.85 times in 2010 to 6.72 times last year.

Its average outage duration per customer served has also reduced from 3,964 minutes to 720, he said.

The company wants to bring that down to 1.5 times and 150 minutes by 2020 to match neighbouring countries like Thailand, he said.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco)’s SAIDI is currently only 11 minutes, the conference heard.

EVN also aims to reduce power losses from 4.66% last year to 3.5% by 2020, Hung said.

For these efforts, it hopes to acquire equipment and technology, including from the RoK, he said

Tran Khiem Tuan, deputy general director of EVN HCM City, said his company would upgrade the network and deploy sophisticated technologies to serve customers better.

The forum provided a platform for businesses from the two countries to exchange information and seek closer co-operation, he said.

Park Kwon Sik, executive vice president of Kepco, said with its technological advancement, the RoK could help develop Vietnam’s electricity industry.

The market offers Korean firms a good opportunity, he said.

He said the Vietnamese Government should roll out policies to attract investment in this sector and establish a park exclusively for the electrical sector.

The forum was organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in HCM City, Kepco and the Korea Electrical Manufacturers Association.