Vietnam to import power from Laos to ease shortage

Vietnam to import power from Laos to ease shortage

The country has upgraded transmission grids to accommodate the purchase.

Vietnam is negotiating with Laos on electricity prices as it may need to
import power from the neighbor for its fast growing economy, local media has
reported, citing trade deputy minister Hoang Quoc Vuong.

Demand for electricity is expected to grow 13 percent annually in the next
four years.

Meanwhile, the country's total output in 2016 is forecast to increase by
just 12 percent to 184 billion kWh from last year, Nguyen Hai Ha, an
executive of state utility EVN told the Saigon Times.

In the short term, the government has planned to bridge the supply-demand
gap by importing electricity from Laos, which will build four more
hydropower plants in 2017. Vietnam has upgraded transmission grids to
accommodate the imports.

EVN estimated the total output of locally produced and imported electricity
this year will reach 175.9 billion kWh.

Vietnam's economy has expanded by more than 5 percent a year on average
since 1999 and growth is forecast to reach 6.5-7 percent in the next four
years.

The country has mapped out a blueprint for the development of the power
sector. The plan foresees VND3,207 trillion ($142 billion) worth of
investments in generation and distribution capacity through to 2030. Some
$40 billion will be invested between 2016 and 2020, of which about 75
percent will go to generation.

It is estimated that Vietnam will need 330-362 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh)
in 2020 and 695-834 billion kWh in 2030 to achieve the average annual
economic growth rate of 7 percent.

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Link to Original Article:
http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-to-import-power-from-laos-to-ea
se-shortage-report-3503369.html

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com