Vietnam Finds Hard to Generate enough Power
In 2006, Vietnam won’t need to cut off the electricity on a wide scale as it did in 2005 but the power shortage still remains, according to the Ministry of Industry.
Power Consumption in Jan-June
The electricity growth in the first six months of this year was only 12.7 per cent against the same period last year. According to experts from the Ministry of Industry, this growth was the lowest compared to 2005. In May, the total country’s power output only rose 7.36 compared with the last year’s average.
The south-generated electricity transmitted through the 500-KV line to the north was some 2.1 billion kWh. The total hydroelectricity output in the first half of 2006 accounted for 24.4 per cent of the country’s total and increased 41.7 per cent against the January-June period of 2005.
The Ministry of Industry also warned against the power shortage threats in the next three years. Mr. Tran Quoc Anh, General Director of EVN Electrical Production, said Vietnam would lack 150 million kWh in 2006.
The top reason for the power deficiency is mounting consumption. Each year, a Vietnamese person uses 500 kWh, compared with 1,250 kWh in China and 1,650 kWh in Thailand. The increasing consumption in association with population growth will lead to a severe power famine if no alternative energy source is found soon.
The electrical loss is also a factor to the paucity. In 2005, Vietnam’s power plants generated 53.32 GWh but the commercial electricity was only 44.9 GWh. Or in other words, the loss was probably 15.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the loss in many other countries was only 7-9 per cent. In the next five years, if the loss is reduced by 1 per cent, there will be 3.4 GWh added for terminal usage, which is equal to the output of a 500- 600-MW power plant in a year.
Vietnamese
