Pham Le Thanh, EVN’s general director, said that in December there would be electrical shortages of about 1,400-1,600MW during rush hours.

"During rush hour the demand for electricity is around 11,200MW, but the supply can only meet up to about 9,800MW of that," Thanh said.

Thanh attributed the shortage in part to the disconnection of the turbines of the national electricity network’s Phu My 2-2 and Phu My 3 thermo-electricity plants.

"The first turbine of the Phu My 3 broke down in May, while the turbine of Phu My 2-2 plant, expected to be operational by December 15, turned out to be flawed and has been sent to Singapore for repairs," Thanh said.

Other losses in the electrical supply had been from the Ca Mau 1 plant, which had been disconnected from the national network for structural completion, and the Uong Bi plant, which had been put into operation later than scheduled due to inadequate performance, he added.

Setting measures

Thanh said that EVN had carefully calculated and balanced electricity supply and demand to properly meet the demand for socio-economic development and daily life.

EVN has also been taking several precautionary measures in preparation for the electricity-supply shortage in the dry season.

"EVN has been attempting to store water in hydro-electricity-generating lakes since last year to maintain supplies for the dry season. EVN has also pushed the progress of the electricity projects they’ve invested in so that plants would be put into operation on time," he said.

"EVN has also focused on the repair of thermo-electricity sources to ensure the highest usable capacity in the dry season while purchasing more electricity from non-EVN plants."

A blackout would be the last resort when a series of supply sources were disconnected from the national network with no standby available while the demand was extremely high, as in rush hour, Thanh said.

A blackout would be carefully considered beforehand to protect production and essential demand, Thanh said.

To get out of the situation, EVN is asking electricity plants to resume operations early: Phu My 2-2 and Phu My 3 plants in January, Ca Mau plant in April, Uong Bi and Dai Ninh in December.

EVN would also overcome the supply shortage by using expensive sources such as oil-running thermoelectricity and diesel; however, these would be used only in rush hours due to the cost, Thanh said.

Several areas in the capital suffered blackouts over the past few days, including Hai Ba Trung, Dong Da and Thanh Xuan districts.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry reported last Friday that there were only eight independent power projects put into operation this year, with a total capacity of 94.6MW. There have been 216 registered independent power projects nationwide this year, with a total capacity of 4,067MW. Twenty-one plants have been put into operation with a total capacity of 300MW. In 2008, 24 new hydro-electricity projects will come into operation.

In July and September of this year, blackouts happened remarkably often in the North due to Nam Con Son gas field closing for maintenance.

Source: Viet Nam News.