Power supply depends on weather

Power supplies are expected to improve from June 20 after water levels in the country’s reservoirs rise and hydroelectricity plants resume normal operations, Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) deputy general director Dang Hoang An has said.

Power shortages will continue until mid-June due to unfavourable weather conditions which have severely depleted water supplies in the country’s reservoirs, An said.

According to a report by EVN, water levels in the country’s reservoirs are barely above the “dead level” at which generators cannot operate.

As a result EVN could not meet national power demands, especially in the dry season, resulting in power cuts across the country, An said.

EVN reported that in the first five months of this year, it supplied over 39 billion kWh, an increase of 19.5 per cent over the same period last year. However, demand for electricity in the first five months increased by 22.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period.

From now until mid June, EVN will continue to cut power provision by 10 to 15 per cent to try and maintain productivity of between 275 to 285 kWh per day.

However, after June 20, if water levels have risen sufficiently through heavy rainfall and flooding, the pressure of primary electricity supply would be eased, An stressed.

EVN admitted that power cuts had affected many households and production companies, but they were unavoidable, An said.

Bui Van Hung, owner of a business household on Nguyen Van Qua Street, District 12, HCM City, said that throughout the month, the power was cut twice a week, causing major disruptions.

Mai Thanh Hang, a resident of Tan Binh District, said that she had to buy an old electricity generator that cost VND10 million (US$526) as backup in case of power loss, but it broke down the third time she used it. Representatives of many companies in HCM City’s industrial and processing zones complained that using electricity generators led to increased production costs and caused severe damage to their equipment and machines.

Dinh The Phuc, deputy head of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that under the Law on Electricity, if power cuts caused losses to the people, power providers would have to compensate them, but procedures for compensation were complicated.

The ERA has drafted a decree on punishment for violations in the power sector with stricter regulations for both electricity users and suppliers, and in the decree procedures for compensation are also simplified.

However, the decree had yet to be approved, Phuc said. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam energy, Vietnam power shortage