State utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) must accurately forecast electricity demand and efficiently utilize power sources to ensure supplies, avoiding the outages that struck during peak periods in 2023, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
“It is imperative power supplies are ensured for production and consumption under any circumstances," he said at a working session with EVN in Hanoi on Saturday.
From late May to mid-June last year, the northern region experienced regular power outages as consumption skyrocketed during the hot summer, while hydropower, one of the country's two main sources, posted falling output due to drought. Many factories in the northern region suffered power cuts for many hours over several weeks.
The cabinet leader emphasized the need to complete the third circuit of the 500 kV transmission line from Quang Trach in the central province of Quang Binh to Pho Noi in the northern province of Hung Yen by June at the latest.
"EVN must focus on implementing medium and long-term strategies on power development and plans in line with new trends, while developing scenarios and solutions to cope with unexpected incidents,” he said.
The government head requested EVN to restructure its finance, assets and human resources to make governance modern, scientific and smart, focusing on renewing old methods and adopting new ones.
“EVN should pay heed to financial restructuring and balancing, boost development investment, and improve investment efficiency,” he added.
Last year, EVN produced over 280 billion kWh of electricity, a 4.5% increase from 2022. Of which, commercial electricity output rose 3.5% to 251 billion kWh. At present, Vietnam leads ASEAN in terms of power system capacity with over 80,000 megawatts.
EVN’s total investment hit nearly VND91 trillion ($3.79 billion) last year, the highest among state-owned groups and corporations.
This year, the group aims to achieve a commercial electricity output of 262.26 billion kWh, a labor productivity increase of over 8%, and a total investment of VND101.9 trillion ($4.16 billion).