Workers set up electrical towers in Tuan Giao District, the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien. Electricity of Viet Nam has spent US$22.3 billion on developing power grids in the past five years. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha

EVN put 34 power generators to use with a total capacity of 9,852 megawatts and started construction on 10 power projects. The Son La Hydropower Plant, which has a 2,400-megawatt capacity, was completed three years earlier than scheduled.

Other projects such as the Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant and Duyen Hai 1 Thermal Power Plant have contributed power to the southern region.

EVN connected 865 transformer stations and transmission lines to the national grid during the period. It also completed the 500-kilovolt Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong high voltage line and the 220-kilovolt Dak Nong- Phuoc Long-Binh Long line to increase the power transmitted between the north and south.

However, EVN said some localities were experiencing power overloads because a number of projects were delayed by insufficient capital, slow land clearance procedures, natural disasters and design changes.

In a bid to meet investment demand, EVN expects to raise VND600 trillion (US$27.9 billion) between 2016 and 2020 through official development assistance loans, and domestic and international bonds. It will scrutinise provincial and municipal power development plans nationwide to adjust investments in line with practical needs; ask relevant ministries and organisations to speed up administrative procedures, land clearance and power planning; and build advanced technical standards for the grid to improve efficiency and reduce losses during transmission.

In the next five years, the group will complete 11 power plants with a combined capacity of 5,819 megawatts while ensuring the progress of key power projects and making preparations for the country's first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan Province. — VNS