From late May to mid-June, the North often suffered from power outages. The reason was that electricity consumption increased sharply while hydropower, one of the two main sources of supply, was reduced in mobilization due to drought. Many businesses with factories in the northern industrial zones were therefore cut off from electricity for many hours, continuously during the week.

Hanoi Electricity workers repair a problem, June 2023. Photo: EVN Hanoi

"The economic cost of the power outages in the North in May and June, which disrupted production, is estimated at $1.4 billion, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP," said Dorsati Madani, senior economist at the World Bank, at a press conference on the morning of August 10. This figure was given by the World Bank based on an estimate of unmet electricity demand of 36 GWh in 2022 and an estimated 900 GWh for May and June 2023 (according to the Operational Report of the Load Dispatch Center and the unit's own estimates).

The organization's survey of northern industrial enterprises showed that revenue losses due to power outages were up to 10%. On the other hand, based on the estimated supply shortage until June, the World Bank assessed that unmet energy demand would also lead to revenue losses for the Vietnam Electricity Group of about 75 million USD.

According to the World Bank, the North is facing an imbalance in power supply. This region has a faster growing demand for electricity than the rest of the country; it is seasonal, especially during the months of May to July. The reason is that the Northern power source depends mainly on hydropower and coal power; at the same time, there is a delay in investment in power production and transmission. The lack of a transmission system limits the North's access to the large surplus capacity in the South (about 20 GW).  

The World Bank also mentioned immediate measures such as early commercial operation schedules for power plants in 2024 and 2025; quickly handling the approval process and implementing investment in transmission; diversifying supply sources, shifting from the 2025 energy structure to relying more on regional imports...  

According to VNE

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