Each Vietnamese person uses 2,425 kWh of electricity, but the North is facing a risk of a 2,000 MW shortage.

This figure was given by a representative of EVN Electricity Group at a conference on saving electricity during the hot season organized by the Office of the Energy Saving Steering Committee (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and the Electricity Regulatory Authority.

EVN also said that the national electricity demand increased dramatically (on May 19, 2023, it reached a new record of 918.5 million kWh, an increase of 12.34% over the same period). The maximum power consumption on this day also reached 43,300 MW (an increase of 9.12% over the same period).

Mr. Vo Quang Lam, Deputy General Director of EVN, added that the demand for electricity consumption (commercial electricity) in the period of 2016-2022 increased by an average of 7.72%/year, of which in the 4 years of 2016-2019, it increased by 9.6%/year.

“ The power system has faced a crisis of imbalance between electricity supply and demand in the past months of May and June, especially in the Northern region, when the national electricity demand increased dramatically ,” Mr. Lam emphasized.

The North still faces the risk of power shortages in the coming years. (Illustration photo)

In this context, according to EVN's calculations, as the demand for electricity increases to serve daily life, production, and expansion of factories and industrial zones, in 2024-2025, the additional power source needed is from 4,000 - 5,000 MW. Meanwhile, the additional capacity is lower than the demand, leading to a power shortage.

Mr. Tran Viet Nguyen, Deputy Head of EVN Business Department, said: " The Northern region has high load growth, so there may be a maximum shortage of nearly 2,000 MW of capacity in 2024-2025 ."

The need to save electricity is therefore very urgent, requiring implementation in many sectors including: administrative services, public lighting, outdoor advertising and decorative lighting, and key energy-using facilities.

Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu - Deputy Chief of Office of the Steering Committee for Energy Saving - Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Development - Ministry of Industry and Trade also recommended: "Our actions need to be proactive and continuous when climate change becomes increasingly extreme, difficult to predict, and unpredictable in the future and load demand is forecasted to recover."

How to overcome power shortage?

According to Mr. Tran Viet Nguyen, the urgent task set by EVN is to continue to implement the goal of saving 2% of consumption demand, reducing power loss in the entire power system to below 6% in the period up to 2025.

In addition, reduce the peak load capacity of the national power system through implementing demand side management (DSM) and load regulation (DR) programs, at least 1,500 MW by 2025; strive to have 50% of office buildings and 50% of houses using self-produced and self-consumed rooftop solar power by 2030.

In addition, the use of energy economically and efficiently is one of the top important policies directed by the Party and the State, especially in the context of high global fuel prices as at present.

Speed up approved projects, have mechanisms to quickly develop LNG power projects, quickly supplement power sources for the Northern region such as concentrated solar power, self-produced and self-consumed rooftop solar power, onshore wind power and offshore wind power...

Along with that, focus on deploying the 500kV line 3 from the Central and Southern regions to the North. Thus, the dry season months of 2025 can add about 3,000 MW from the Central and Southern regions to the North.

PHAM DUY

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