A view of Lai Chau Hydropower Plant in Nam Hang Commune, Nam Nhun District, in the northern province of Lai Chau. Authorities said that the country will receive adequate power this summer. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The country will receive adequate power this summer, Dinh The Phuc, deputy head of Electricity Regulatory Authority of Viet Nam (ERAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said.

He made these assurances during an online dialogue held by Dan Tri online newspaper on Friday.

The dialogue created a platform for readers to raise questions for leaders in the electricity and irrigation sectors regarding power and water supply in the upcoming dry season.

Phuc said there would be no power cuts due to shortages in electricity. However, there might be incidents related to electricity lines due to oversupply, leading to power shortages in a few areas.

ERAV has assigned localities to establish plans to deal with partial power shortages, he said.

According to Nguyen Danh Duyen, deputy director of Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN), power supply interruption for power line maintenance will be announced five days in advance through the media. Sudden power cuts will be announced to customers through direct phone calls or by fax with clear information on the reasons for the interruption, the duration of the power cut and when the power will be restored.

Vu Xuan Khu, deputy director of EVN's National Load Dispatch Centre, said this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had given the nod to an additional charge for more than 26,000kWh. All additional power sources will be mobilised to ensure the best power supply is available.

Regarding the water release by EVN hydropower plants in dealing with the difficulties of agricultural production in recent years, Nguyen Manh Hung, a senior official from the Water Resource Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said hydropower reservoirs played a vital role in supplying water for households and production.

In the Central region, reservoirs such as Dai Ninh, Ham Thuan-Da Mi, Da Nhim, Song Ba Ha and Dak Mi 4 provide water for thousands of hectares of land being cultivated in the Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen and Quang Nam provinces. Some 450,000 out of 630,000ha of rice from the spring-winter crops in the north have received water from the Son La, Hoa Binh, Thac Ba and Tuyen Quang hydropower lakes. The company announced plans to use water from hydropower reservoirs for agricultural production for the summer-fall harvest, he said.

In another report, the National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT) said it had recently completed a project to install 220kV transformers in a 550kV transmission station in Nho Quan District of northern Ninh Binh Province.

The transmission station helped meet the increasing demand for power in Ninh Binh Province and part of the neighbouring province of Hoa Binh, NPT officials said.

The station also helped ensure the stable and safe operation of the electric grid for the area.

In the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region, phase 4 of the 550kV transmission station project in Pleiku City of Buon Ma Thuot Province has been completed. The operation of the station was intended to increase the power transmission capacity of the North-Central-South 550kV electric line.

The NPT-invested station helped enhance power transmission from Viet Nam to Laos through the hydropower plants of Xekaman No. 1, Upper Xekong No. 3 and Lower Xekong No. 3 and the 220kV line in Pleiku.

EVN, in recent months, has invested in building several electric works in the capital city of Ha Noi to ensure the efficient supply of power for production and daily life.

One of the major projects involved installing a transformer in the 220kV station in Tay Ho District.

Last month, EVN and its member companies put into operation a 550kV line in My Tho City of southern Tien Giang Province, a 220kV line in Hue City and a 220kV line in northern Yen Bai Province.

Besides this, the corporation planned to complete a 220kV line connecting with Trung Son Hydropower Plant in northern Thai Binh Province, as well as upgrade some transmission stations in northern Lao Cai Province and Da Nang City.

According to EVN, power consumption was forecast to increase by 13 per cent in the upcoming dry season in the southern region.

In May and June, the extra load capacity might reach 540 million kWh per day, of which the capacity of the southern region might be 250 million kWh per day.

The corporation has asked power transmission companies nationwide to adopt measures to ensure the safe operation of transmission stations and lines, especially the North-South line. — VNS