VINACHEM

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a public telegram on drastic measures to ensure power supply in dry season in 2024 and coming years.

The document was sent to the ministers of Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, Chairman of the Vietnamese Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises, Chairmen of municipal and provincial People’s Committee, General Directors of the Viet Nam Electricity (EVN), the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group, the Viet Nam National Coal – Mineral Industry Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) and the Dong Bac (Northeast) Corporation under the Ministry of National Defense.

Viet Nam is coping with risks of power shortage especially during the upcoming dry season (from May to July) in which power demand is forecast to increase sharply by 13 percent, much higher than the plan of 9.6 percent. Especially, the North is projected to experience a record increase of power demand by 17 percent in comparison with the same period last year.

Hence, the Minister of Industry and Trade is in charge of supervising safety and efficient operation of the national power grid, rashly perfecting regulations on electricity import before April 30, 2024, issuing incentive policies for rooftop solar power projects at people’s houses, public offices, industrial parks, and offshore wind power development.

Especially, the 500kV circuit-3 power transmission line linking Quang Trach in the central province of Quang Binh and Pho Noi in the northern province of Hung Yen must be finalized before June 30, 2024 in order to ensure stable power supply for the North.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development takes the prime responsibility to work with relevant ministries and localities to prioritize reserve water resources for electricity generation during the dry season.

The Chairman of the Vietnamese Commission for Management of State Capital at Enterprises directs EVN, Vinacomin and PVN to oversee power purchase agreements.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha was assigned to keep a close watch on power supply./.VGP