Exporters hit hard by spate of power cuts

Southern provinces claim frequent electricity cuts over the past few weeks have seriously hurt the business sector.

Tran Thi Huong, director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Industry and Trade Department, said power shortages were among major reasons behind a sharp decrease in local industrial production value in April.

Ministry of Industry and Trade (MofT) data showed the province experienced an 8.8 percent fall in industrial production last month against March. It is a stark contrast to March’s 7.8 percent month-on-month industrial growth. The province’s foreign-invested sector, in which many firms produce garments and footwear for export, suffered the biggest fall in production, around 17.7 percent on-month. Local private firms, meanwhile, saw a 0.2 percent decrease.

“Garment, footwear and particularly steel manufacturing sectors in the province were seriously hit by power cuts. The power sector must strictly follow the government’s instruction to mobilise all power generation sources to ensure supply for production, particularly for southern provinces where many important industries are located,” Huong said.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the sole buyer and distributor of electricity in the country, started to cut power from April 12 due to supply shortages, particularly from hydropower plants. According to Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERA V) statistics, power supply volumes in the second half of April amounted to 264 million kilowatt hour per day, 3.2 percent lower than average.

Under government instructions, Hanoi and HCM City have priority for power supplies. Vietnam’s six northern mountainous provinces purchased power from China, while demand in the central region remained small.

“Thus, southern provinces suffered the biggest cuts during the past weeks,” said ERA V’s director Pham Manh Thang. ERAV also revealed Binh Duong province, near HCM City, suffered a 18-20 percent power shortfall, which was three times higher than the average reported countrywide by the EVN. Power supplies for rural Binh Duong areas were cut almost seven days a week and its industrial sector suffered power cuts two days a week.

Nguyen Duc Thuan, chair of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, said many footwear firms reported that power cuts sometimes occurred up to three days a week without notice.

“It is really a burning issue for southern firms,” Thuan said.

VIR

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam energy, Vietnam power shortage