In the early days of October, the people of Pú Chả village (Mường Pồn commune) joyfully welcomed the first flow of the national electricity grid to their village with elation and excitement. After many years of longing, the light of electricity has now shone, opening up new opportunities for economic and cultural development and improving the people’s lives.

Mr. Sùng A Gấu, Secretary of the Pú Chả village Party Cell, emotionally shared: “Since January 8, 2025, when the project began, everyone in the village has been eagerly waiting day by day. Now that we have electricity, everyone is happy. The villagers feel like they have been given new faith and motivation to rise out of poverty!”

The construction and equipment package at the Pú Chả village transformer station was implemented by the Project Management Board and Land Fund Development for Area 4, as part of the rural electricity supply project under the “Brightening up Điện Biên” Program. The components, including one transformer station, nearly 6km of medium-voltage lines, over 1.7km of low-voltage lines, and the meter and post-meter systems, were completed after just 8 months of construction, bringing early joy to the people of the highland area of Pú Chả.

Implementing the “Brightening up Điện Biên” Program, the Project Management Board and Land Fund Development for Area 4 has been striving to carry out the project to supply rural electricity from the national grid to villages in the area. During implementation, the process faced obstacles as the capital for 2025 had not yet been allocated, causing construction delays in some packages.

In addition, prolonged rainy and stormy weather, complex mountainous terrain, and unusual climate developments significantly affected outdoor construction items, such as foundations, utility poles, and the medium- and low-voltage line systems. Furthermore, the supply of electrical materials and equipment (poles, crossarms, insulators, cables, transformer stations, remote reading meters, etc.) also encountered difficulties as it is heavily dependent on manufacturers and distributors. This was especially true as many electricity projects were being implemented simultaneously in the province, making the supply of materials even scarcer.

Despite many difficulties, the Board has proactively implemented a range of synchronous solutions to speed up progress and ensure the projects are completed according to the set plan. The unit has focused on directing contractors to build detailed construction plans, clearly defining the roadmap and timeline for each component, and mobilizing more highly skilled personnel, especially experts in electrical equipment installation, to increase construction efficiency.

Besides this, the Board regularly works with suppliers to ensure the timely provision of materials, while also strengthening on-site supervision and inspection to promptly address any arising issues. It also coordinates closely with the Điện Biên Power Company in preparing plans for energizing, taking over, and operating the transformer stations and power lines, ensuring safety and efficiency when they are put into use.

As a result, in the third quarter of 2025, many components in Mường Pồn and Na Sang communes were completed and put into operation. Some contractors have achieved 50-100% of the work volume, and the remaining units have committed to completing all projects before December 31, 2025, 12 months ahead of the contract schedule.

The Rural Electricity Supply from the National Grid Project, part of the “Brightening up Điện Biên” Program, is being directly implemented by the Project Management Board and Land Fund Development for Area 1 in the communes of Mường Ảng, Nà Tấu, Búng Lao, and Mường Lạn. It aims to provide electricity for domestic use and production for 533 households in 12 villages. The project involves the new construction of 26.9km of medium-voltage lines, 24.4km of low-voltage lines, 11 transformer stations with a total capacity of 575kVA, and the installation of 542 new electricity meters.

As of June 30, 2025, the construction and equipment installation package in the communes of Mường Đăng and the former Ngối Cáy (now Nà Tấu commune) had completed 100% of the work volume, including 200 medium-voltage poles, 205 low-voltage poles, 16.26km of medium-voltage lines, and 10.32km of low-voltage lines. All 237 meters and electrical devices have been installed and successfully energized in the villages of Nậm Cứm, Chan III, Pơ Mu, Chan I, and Chan I (livestock area).

For the construction and equipment installation package in the former communes of Ẳng Nưa, Ẳng Tở, Ẳng Cang, Xuân Lao, and Mường Lạn, the contractor has currently installed 76 out of 107 medium-voltage poles, 236 out of 340 low-voltage poles, and 4 out of 7 transformer stations, achieving about 70% of the work volume. Some lines have been energized and put into use in Huổi Háo and Cha Cuông villages (former Ẳng Tở commune). Other lines, such as those for the residential cluster at the foot of Tằng Quái pass and Tọ Cuông village (former Ẳng Tở commune), Pha Hún and the Pom Đốn area (former Xuân Lao commune), Hua Nặm (former Ẳng Cang commune), and Xuân Lứa (Mường Lạn commune), are being urgently constructed and are expected to be completed in October 2025 to bring the national grid to serve the lives and production of the people.

Mr. Nhâm Đức Thiện, Head of the Project Management Department (Project Management Board and Land Fund Development for Area 1), said: “To accelerate the implementation of the ‘Brightening up Điện Biên’ Program, we regularly urge and inspect the sites. We also actively coordinate with contractors and local authorities to promptly resolve any obstacles. As a result, the project has now provided stable electricity to hundreds of households, contributing to promoting socio-economic development and improving the material and spiritual lives of the people, in line with the goals of the ‘Brightening up Điện Biên’ Program.”

The “Brightening up Điện Biên” Program is one of the province’s key projects, aiming to bring the national electricity grid to serve the lives and production of people in remote and border areas. Currently, the program is being implemented synchronously in many localities with dozens of construction packages, transformer stations, and medium- and low-voltage lines being started and constructed urgently. Despite facing many difficulties with capital, weather, and terrain, the project owners, management boards, and contractors are maintaining high focus, applying many synchronous solutions such as increasing manpower, enhancing supervision, and coordinating closely with material suppliers to shorten construction time while still ensuring quality and safety. With the determination that “where the light goes, joy follows,” the “Brightening up Điện Biên” Program has brought light to every remote village, thereby igniting faith and the aspiration to rise for the ethnic peoples, making an important contribution to the sustainable development of Điện Biên province in the time to come.