Vietnam faces 3b kWh power shortfall in 2011

Vietnam faces an electricity shortfall of 3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) this year due to lack of water in reservoirs, the state-run Vietnam News daily quoted power monopoly Vietnam Electricity as saying.

Reservoir levels were much lower than normal for this time of year, particularly in large reservoirs, the newspaper quoted deputy director Duong Quang Thanh of the state utility group as saying.

It would be “extremely difficult” to guarantee power supply during the dry season if there were supply problems, he said. The group expects demand in the dry season lasting to May to rise 18.3 percent from last year, to 56.14 kWh.

Vietnam’s power shortfall is widely cited as a barrier to investment and one of the biggest worries for businesses. Blackouts are common. The government has been struggling to add capacity, and has been buying some electricity from southern China. – Reuters

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam energy, Vietnam power shortage

Posted by VBN on Jan 13 2011. Filed under Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry