57,120 MW, no alternating power cuts: Miracle of operating the power system in extreme heat
Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh - General Director of National Electricity System and Market Operation Co., Ltd. (NSMO) said that in the past 5 days (from May 23-27), the North entered a widespread intense heat wave with a common temperature of 38 - 40 degrees Celsius, many places exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. The demand for electricity use increased sharply, especially during noon and evening hours, causing the electricity system to operate continuously in a tense state.
The power system continuously recorded record-breaking peak capacity, especially in the Northern region. Specifically, on May 23, the maximum capacity of the system reached 53,512 MW, and by May 24, although it fell on the weekend (Saturday), the electricity demand in the North increased abnormally because normally the load on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) is only 80-85% of a working day. However, the North still set a new record in 2026, specifically the maximum capacity of the power system reached 48,729 MW at 9:50 PM; the North alone reached 26,595 MW at 10:15 PM.
May 25 marked the strongest increase in electricity load since the beginning of 2026, according to NSMO's report, the national load capacity at 1:40 PM reached 57,120 MW; the North set a new record of 29,667 MW, an increase of nearly 11.5% compared to the previous peak.
May 26 is considered the peak of the hot spell at the beginning of summer 2026 when the national and Northern power systems simultaneously set new records in both maximum capacity and electricity consumption. The national maximum capacity reached 58,103 MW at 1:40 PM, an increase of about 5.7% compared to the peak of 2025. Meanwhile, the Northern region's maximum capacity reached 29,716 MW at 1:20 PM, an increase of 5.4% compared to the record of 2025, electricity consumption reached 629 million kWh, 5.4% higher than the record of the previous year. Compared to the same period in 2025, electricity consumption in the Northern region increased by 25.4%, while the maximum capacity increased by 26.4%.
On May 27, the load of the Northern power system at 1:15 PM reached approximately 29,800MW, of which the Northern Power Corporation and Hanoi Power Corporation adjusted the load (DR) with a total capacity of about 300-400MW and mobilized customer Diesel sources.
Overcoming peak load, maintaining system safety - The electricity industry has done what seemed impossible.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh, under the close direction of the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to respond to the prolonged heat wave and increased load demand in the North, NSMO has synchronously deployed many technical and operational solutions to ensure the safe operation of the national power system.
In the work of mobilizing electricity sources, NSMO operates in the direction of thrift and efficiency of hydropower sources, prioritizing water storage at large reservoirs, especially the Da River cascade hydropower system to maintain strategic reserves, ready to mobilize during extreme heat waves. At the same time, NSMO closely coordinates with PVGas and PV Power to optimize the mobilization of LNG power sources, ensuring fuel balance and system operation efficiency.
One of the notable solutions is the relocation of peak power generation time frames for small hydropower plants in the Northern region in the period from May 21 to June 30, 2026 to better meet peak hour load demand.
To maintain maximum available capacity of the power system, NSMO has postponed all repairs of power sources and grids that are not really urgent in the period from May 22-28, 2026. At the same time, the unit continuously urges units that are experiencing problems or power loss to quickly fix them to soon restore operation.
NSMO has also mobilized auxiliary service units such as Ninh Binh, Ba Ria, O Mon and is ready to mobilize DO gas turbine units in case of necessity to ensure power reserves for the national power system.
In load management, on May 23, 2026, NSMO issued Document No. 2041/NSMO-TTĐ to EVN and power corporations to announce the availability of power sources of the national power system and the Northern power system, and at the same time allocate availability of power sources to strengthen operation coordination during the hot weather period from May 25–31, 2026.
Following that, on May 25, based on updating the operation of power sources and LNG supply, NSMO continued to issue Document No. 2049/NSMO-TTĐ updating the allocation and availability of power sources for power corporations in week 22.
In parallel with power source work, NSMO coordinates with units to improve the operation capacity of the power grid to optimize power transmission from source to load. NSMO and its branches have coordinated with units to energize key projects serving the operation of the dry season, strengthening the clearance of power sources as well as importing electricity from Laos and China.
For the Northern power system, 905 MVar cross-condensers have been energized so far to improve voltage quality and system stability. The BESS energy storage system project in Hanoi is expected to energize 50 MW by the end of June 2026; the next items with a scale of about 220 MW are being implemented.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh said that NSMO also strengthens optimal calculation of the resistance power trend on the system to reduce losses, improve voltage, increase resistance power reserves and minimize the risk of voltage collapse in conditions of increased load.
The unit has prepared many operating plans for extreme hot days in the North; regularly updated according to the actual situation of power sources and grids, and at the same time developed solutions to change wiring connections to prevent overload and put them into system operation methods.
In addition, NSMO has developed a process to calculate the risk of voltage collapse in the power system, đưa ra criteria for discharging loads when necessary; built a system to warn of violations of operating criteria on the SCADA platform; calculated the median-northern, median-south transmission limits in real time as well as online power system security assessment (DSA) to support dispatchers in making quick and accurate decisions.
For extreme incident situations, NSMO has prepared black start plans to restore the power system, operating procedures for special discharge circuits according to 500kV power lines; and at the same time organized incident handling and power restoration drills on a large scale.
In the work of load adjustment, NSMO coordinates with EVNNPC, EVNHANOI and power corporations to review and classify customers who are likely to participate in load shifting and adjustment, especially in the Northern region.
At the same time, NSMO has re-issued the allocation table for power outage and reduction and the list of emergency power outage and reduction at the source; coordinated with EVNNPC and EVNHANOI to test the new load discharge list through the SCADA system to be ready for application in emergency situations.
Along with technical solutions, NSMO also strengthens leadership and operating forces throughout the system during hot sunny days to promptly handle arising situations, ensuring safe and continuous operation of the national power system.
Local and large enterprise involvement is needed
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Ninh, it is currently only the first phase of the 2026 hot season, while it is predicted that the Northern region will continue to experience prolonged intense heat waves. This will put great pressure on the operation and ensuring of electricity supply to the economy, especially in the Northern region - the region with the highest load growth rate in the country.
To proactively ensure safe and stable power supply during peak periods, NSMO proposes to synchronously deploy solutions to manage electricity consumption demand in both the long, medium and short term to reduce load pressure on the power system.
From a long-term perspective, NSMO proposes that the Departments of Industry and Trade coordinate with local electricity units to work with large electricity users, especially the industrial sector, to develop plans to adjust production and business activities appropriately during the peak dry season from May to July every year. The goal is to reduce capacity demand at times when the power system is under great pressure, thereby contributing to ensuring national power supply security.
These solutions also closely follow the spirit of Directive No. 10/CT-TTg dated March 30, 2026 of the Prime Minister on strengthening electricity saving and promoting the development of self-produced and self-consumed rooftop solar power. In which, the People's Committees of provinces and cities are assigned the responsibility of mobilizing large electricity customers to participate in the load adjustment (DR) program, and at the same time mobilizing on-site backup power sources in case the power system is at risk of power shortage.
Affirming the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
It can be affirmed that in the past 5 days, the power system has operated safely, stably and ensured power supply. From the practice of operating the power system for 5 consecutive days, the Northern load set a new record, it can be seen that the direction and administration role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is of key significance in maintaining the safe operation of the national power system. This is reflected in flexible operating thinking, closely following operational practices and the requirement to ensure energy security in conditions where load increases higher than forecast.
Under the direction of the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, a series of synchronous solutions have been drastically implemented such as: optimizing the mobilization of LNG and hydropower sources; postponing non-urgent repair work; improving transmission capacity North - Central - South; strengthening load adjustment (DR); preparing extreme incident response plans; and promoting coordination between NSMO, EVN, PVGas, PV Power and localities.
In the context that the Northern power system often operates close to the limit, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's continuous direction to update operating methods, closely monitor fuel sources, availability of units and progress of key power grid projects has made an important contribution to helping the system maintain stability. This is not only a story of technical operation but also demonstrates the role of industry management, inter-sectoral coordination capacity and quick response to unusual situations.
The results of maintaining the power system during the recent hot peak days also show that the management orientation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is strongly shifting towards proactive risk prevention, instead of just handling situations when incidents occur. Minister Le Manh Hung has repeatedly emphasized the requirement to improve forecasting capacity, load management and mobilize the participation of localities and large enterprises in implementing electricity saving and load adjustment.
It can be affirmed that in the context of very high electricity demand and extreme weather diễn biến, the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the head of the Industry and Trade sector is becoming a particularly important factor to ensure energy security, maintain stable production, business and people's lives.
Previously, at the meeting to ensure power supply on the morning of May 24, Minister Le Manh Hung highly appreciated the spirit of responsibility, proactiveness and management and administration methods of NSMO and electricity industry units in the context of load demand increasing early and higher than forecast. In particular, units have proactively identified problems, closely coordinated, and regularly updated information to optimize the operation plan of the national power system.
During the 5 peak days of hot weather, to ensure power supply in all situations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized a meeting on the morning of May 24 chaired by Minister Le Manh Hung with the participation of Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai and leaders of the Electricity Department, NSMO, Vietnam Electricity Group, Northern Power Corporation, Hanoi Power Corporation (EVNHANOI), and related units. Next, on the afternoon of May 26, Minister Le Manh Hung chaired a conference to ensure power supply during the 2026 dry season peak. The conference was attended by Deputy Minister Truong Thanh Hoai, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long, along with representatives of leaders of Departments, Agencies, NSMOs and related units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; energy corporations, energy corporations, distribution and transmission enterprises... and provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.
At the conference, power source investors, energy enterprises and Departments of Industry and Trade of localities focused on exchanging and clarifying implementation solutions according to the issues set out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and NSMO, with the highest goal of ensuring safe and stable electricity supply for the economy and people's lives, even in extreme situations; at the same time, energy prices must be suitable for the capacity of people and businesses.
