According to the data from the National Power System Control Center (A0), during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2024 (from February 8th, 2024, which is the 29th day of the lunar calendar, to February 14th, 2024, which is the 5th day of the lunar calendar), the highest daily electricity consumption of the national power system averaged around 27,026 MW, with an average daily electricity consumption of about 490.1 million kWh.
The statistics show that the electricity consumption nationwide during the Lunar New Year in 2024 decreased by 31.7% compared to the normal days of the week before the holiday. However, the average daily electricity consumption was 11.2% higher than the same period during the Lunar New Year in 2023.
As previously projected, the national electricity consumption during the Lunar New Year holiday decreased significantly compared to normal days. Specifically, the nationwide peak load capacity during off-peak hours was reduced to over 14,900 MW, equivalent to about 60% compared to normal days.
EVN ensures safe electricity supply during the Lunar New Year 2024. (Illustrative image: EVN)
According to A0, with the low electricity consumption during the holiday, various types of power sources had to reduce generation to match the load demand. In reality, to ensure safe and stable operation of the power system, A0 had to maintain a certain minimum operating level for traditional power units (such as coal-fired thermal power plants, gas turbines, and hydropower plants) to ensure system inertia, stability, and sufficient backup capacity in case of emergencies.
Therefore, when the load consumption dropped too low, the traditional power sources stopped/reduced generation to the technical limits while the total generation capacity still exceeded the consumption demand, leading to the obligatory need to reduce the mobilized capacity from all types of power sources, including renewable energy sources (such as small hydropower, solar power, and wind power), to ensure the safe operation of the national power system.
Thanks to proactive measures, during the Lunar New Year in 2024, power generation investors (including rooftop solar power) basically complied with the dispatch orders, thereby contributing to the safe operation of the national power system without causing incidents or affecting electricity supply.
With the low load characteristic during the holiday, the voltage of the regional power systems and 500 kV power systems increased. A0 and the regional power control centers disconnected some high voltage and ultra-high voltage transmission lines from operation to ensure that the system voltage remained within the allowable limits and met the requirements for safe operation.
