HANOI (Bloomberg): Vietnam’s state-run utility is calling on households, offices and factories to reduce electricity usage though it does not foresee power shortages this year, the company said.
Vietnam Electricity Group called on customers to continue to voluntarily deploy power-saving measures amid a heat wave that has boosted consumption to a record 1b kilowatt hours on Tuesday, the company known as EVN said in a statement.
Surging power usage last summer in north Vietnam, home to Apple Inc. suppliers, Samsung Electronics Co. factories and other major manufacturers, led to widespread blackouts.
The utility said power usage in the northern part of Vietnam will likely continue to rise if heat waves continue. A company official, though, said the region is not now at risk of power shortages. Though consumption hit a record, power producers are not running at capacity, EVN said.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai last week said blackouts that plagued the country last year are unlikely to occur because a 500 kilovolt transmission line connecting the country’s north and central is expected to be operating by the end of June.
The utility is asking customers to set air conditioners’ temperatures at least at 26C (78.8F) and refrain from using multiple high-capacity electric devices at the same time, especially during peak hours of 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 7 p.m.-11 p.m. In April, the utility also called for power-saving measures.
-- ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
