Power cuts expected for months to come

Vietnam is faced with occasional power shortages during the next two or three months – and the situation is not forecast to improve in the new year.

Statistics from State-run Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) show that in the first nine months of the year, total water in national reservoirs was 33.3 billion cubic metres less than at the same period last year.

This is sufficient to cause hydro-power shortages of up to 6 billion kWh.

Total electricity production from all sources last month amounted to just over 8.6 billion kWh, up 15 per cent on the same period last year.

Reduced water levels have left power authorities perplexed at the possibility of power shortages and cut-offs in the near future as well as shortages next year.

To deal with the issue, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the EVN to regulate power supplies for production and consumption and to try and limit cutting supplies.

He said the sector should mobilise oil-fired and coal-fired power plants, bring newly-built plants into operation and promote the saving of power among the population.

Deputy general director of the EVN Dang Hoang An said hydro power normally produced more than 59 per cent of total needs.

He said while the sector might be able to meet demand for 25 billion kWh in the last three months of this year, an additional problem was the temporary closure of Ca Mau Gas Factory PA3 pipelines for maintenance.

Ta Van Luan, director of Yaly Hydropower Plant, said water levels at Pleikrong Reservoir were about 537m, compared to 570m for the same period last year.

He said he did not expect the situation to improve in the near future and that the plant had been operating only five hours a day, lower than full capacity.

A similar situation is being experienced at the largest Yaly Hydropower Plant, which has a water level of 490m, 25m lower than average level last year.

Luan said water flow into Yaly reservoir was 160cu.m a second, but its four turbines needed 420cu.m a second to reach full capacity.

He said in the first nine months of the year, the plant had run at half of its capacity because of the low water levels.

And that some water would be saved for next year. The plant is expected to supply 4 billion kWh this year, compared to its expected production of 5.5 billion kWh.

Reservoirs in the Central Highlands and the south are facing drought.

Le Van Quang, deputy director of Da Nhim-Ham Thuan-Da Mi Hydropower Company said the water level at Ham Thuan was only 39cm above the lowest level and supplied water for electricity for only eight hours a day.

He said the 400MW Tri An Hydropower Plant had received 4.1 billion cu.m, 2 million cu.m lower than at the same period last year. Its water level was less than a metre above the lowest level.

Director of Tri An Hydropower Plant Nguyen Kim Phuc said low water levels had reduced expected electricity production this year to 1-1.2 billion kWh, the lowest level in 23 years of operation.

 

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Power cuts expected for months to come

HA NOI — Viet Nam is faced with occasional power shortages during the next two or three months – and the situation is not forecast to improve in the new year.

Statistics from State-run Electricity of Viet Nam Group (EVN) show that in the first nine months of the year, total water in national reservoirs was 33.3 billion cubic metres less than at the same period last year.

This is sufficient to cause hydro-power shortages of up to 6 billion kWh.

Total electricity production from all sources last month amounted to just over 8.6 billion kWh, up 15 per cent on the same period last year.

Reduced water levels have left power authorities perplexed at the possibility of power shortages and cut-offs in the near future as well as shortages next year.

To deal with the issue, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the EVN to regulate power supplies for production and consumption and to try and limit cutting supplies.

He said the sector should mobilise oil-fired and coal-fired power plants, bring newly-built plants into operation and promote the saving of power among the population.

Deputy general director of the EVN Dang Hoang An said hydro power normally produced more than 59 per cent of total needs.

He said while the sector might be able to meet demand for 25 billion kWh in the last three months of this year, an additional problem was the temporary closure of Ca Mau Gas Factory PA3 pipelines for maintenance.

Ta Van Luan, director of Yaly Hydropower Plant, said water levels at Pleikrong Reservoir were about 537m, compared to 570m for the same period last year.

He said he did not expect the situation to improve in the near future and that the plant had been operating only five hours a day, lower than full capacity.

A similar situation is being experienced at the largest Yaly Hydropower Plant, which has a water level of 490m, 25m lower than average level last year.

Luan said water flow into Yaly reservoir was 160cu.m a second, but its four turbines needed 420cu.m a second to reach full capacity.

He said in the first nine months of the year, the plant had run at half of its capacity because of the low water levels.

And that some water would be saved for next year. The plant is expected to supply 4 billion kWh this year, compared to its expected production of 5.5 billion kWh.

Reservoirs in the Central Highlands and the south are facing drought.

Le Van Quang, deputy director of Da Nhim-Ham Thuan-Da Mi Hydropower Company said the water level at Ham Thuan was only 39cm above the lowest level and supplied water for electricity for only eight hours a day.

He said the 400MW Tri An Hydropower Plant had received 4.1 billion cu.m, 2 million cu.m lower than at the same period last year. Its water level was less than a metre above the lowest level.

Director of Tri An Hydropower Plant Nguyen Kim Phuc said low water levels had reduced expected electricity production this year to 1-1.2 billion kWh, the lowest level in 23 years of operation. ­— VNS

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City launches water plant into operation

A view of Thu Duc water plant - Photo: Anh Quan

HCMC – Thu Duc Water BOO Corp. on Monday began commissioning a long-awaited water treatment plant, thus easing the chronic shortage of running water in some parts of districts 7, 8 and Nha Be.

The plant will be able to supply 300,000 cubic meters of water a day for residents in the three districts.

This is the first water project in the city developed under BOO (build-operate-own) form with the total cost of over VND1.7 trillion. The project includes a water pumping station in Dong Nai Province and a treatment plant in HCMC’s Thu Duc District.

Saigon Water Corp., or Sawaco, has completed 25.7 kilometers of water pipe for the project, starting from Thu Duc and running through districts 9, 2, 4, 7 and 8 to Ba Chiem Bridge in Nha Be District.

The enterprise will extend the pipeline system in the future to supply more running water for Thu Duc, Binh Thanh and Go Vap districts.

Ly Chung Dan, Sawaco deputy general director, said Sawaco will distribute water from Tan Hiep water plant to districts 4 and 8 to supply water for districts 12, Binh Tan and Cu Chi.

Construction of the project began in 2005 with the capital initially estimated at over VND1.5 trillion. It is invested by the consortium of HCMC Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company and Vietnam Development Bank.

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M’sian firm wants to build water supply plant in city

HCMC – Malaysia’s Green Water Investment Company has just proposed to the HCMC Department of Transport a project to build a water plant in the outlying district of Cu Chi with a daily processing output of 300,000 cubic meters.

Tran The Ky, deputy director of the transport department, told the Daily on Tuesaday that the proposal was just the initial one submitted by the Malaysian company. A detailed development plan and the total cost estimate for the project have not been mentioned in the proposal, he said.

Ky did not say whether the department would support the project, but said the city would upgrade existing water supply facilities to meet the rising demand.

“Between now and 2015, the city will focus on the third-phase expansion of the BOO Thu Duc water plant and the second-phase of Tan Hiep water plant to raise capacity by 300,000 cubic meters a day,” he said.

In the next five years, the city will also make a study on building a water collection station to tap water from the Dong Nai River and the Dau Tieng Reservoir. Therefore, the project proposed by the Malaysian firm should be considered for the period after 2015, Ky noted.

Current water supply in the city is 1.35 million cubic meters, but the supply will rise to 1.8 million cubic meters by the end of this year when expansion projects on the BOO Thu Duc and Kenh Dong water plants are completed.

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Power projects hit by drought

Many small and medium hydropower plants in the Central Highlands do not have enough water to operate efficiently although the rainy season is about to end.

Most hydroelectric companies in Dak Lak complain production has reached only about half of their targets because of the drought-like weather conditions.

Some small plants had to shut down temporarily to accumulate enough water, they said.

There are four hydropower plants on the Serepok River - the Buon Tu Srah Hydropower Plant with a 520 million cubic metres reservoir in Lak District; the Buon Kuop Hydropower Plant in Dak Lak Province's Krong No District; Dray H'Linh, Serepok 3 Plants in Dak Nong Province's Cu Dut District and Serepok 4 in Buon Don District, Dak Lak.

Tran Van Khanh, director of the Buon Kuop Hydropower Company which operates the Buon Tu Srah and Serepok 3 plants, said the extended drought resulted in record low water levels in the Serepok River. He said the Buon Tu Srah Dam, whose reservoir can hold 520 million cu.m of water, had just around 60 million cu.m water.

This was the lowest since the plant was inaugurated in September 2009. Inadequate water in the Buon Tu Srah Reservoir has caused downstream hydropower plants to operate perfunctorily because upstream reservoirs have to accumulate water, he said.

Khanh said the State had assigned his company to provide 1.28 billion kWh of power this year, but it has only been able to produce 480 million kWh, about 38 percent of the year's plan.

"Compared with the same time last year, this is a record low water level. The rainy season in the Central Highlands often ends in November, but there is not enough water to operate the plants even now. With this situation, I am afraid the company will not reach 50 percent of the target," Khanh said.

An official who works at the Buon Tu Srah Reservoir said last Friday that the dam could not accumulate enough water and the plant had to stay idle at daytime.

The Krong No River in Dak Nong Province is no longer fierce and deep as it used to be, and a drop of several dozen meters in water levels in the dam is clearly visible.

Ho Van Bay, deputy secretary of Duc Xuyen Commune's People's Committee, said water levels in streams that linked to the Krong No River were so low that people could walk to the other side.

Nguyen Van Than, director of the Dak Lak Electricity Company, predicted that the situation would worsen in the coming months.

Water levels at the Ialy Hydropower Plant on the Se San River in Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces have also been reported at critically low levels and output capacity of the dam is said to be at 50 percent.

Ta Van Luan, director of Ialy Hydropower Company, said the company's production in the first eight months of this year has reached 50 percent of that assigned by the Vietnam Electricity Corporation.

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Power projects hit by drought

DAK LAK — Many small and medium hydropower plants in the Central Highlands do not have enough water to operate efficiently although the rainy season is about to end.

Most hydroelectric companies in Dak Lak complain production has reached only about half of their targets because of the drought-like weather conditions.

Some small plants had to shut down temporarily to accumulate enough water, they said.

There are four hydropower plants on the Serepok River - the Buon Tu Srah Hydropower Plant with a 520 million cubic metres reservoir in Lak District; the Buon Kuop Hydropower Plant in Dak Lak Province's Krong No District; Dray H'Linh, Serepok 3 Plants in Dak Nong Province's Cu Dut District and Serepok 4 in Buon Don District, Dak Lak.

Tran Van Khanh, director of the Buon Kuop Hydropower Company which operates the Buon Tu Srah and Serepok 3 plants, said the extended drought resulted in record low water levels in the Serepok River. He said the Buon Tu Srah Dam, whose reservoir can hold 520 million cu.m of water, had just around 60 million cu.m water.

This was the lowest since the plant was inaugurated in September 2009. Inadequate water in the Buon Tu Srah Reservoir has caused downstream hydropower plants to operate perfunctorily because upstream reservoirs have to accumulate water, he said.

Khanh said the State had assigned his company to provide 1.28 billion kWh of power this year, but it has only been able to produce 480 million kWh, about 38 per cent of the year's plan.

"Compared with the same time last year, this is a record low water level. The rainy season in the Central Highlands often ends in November, but there is not enough water to operate the plants even now. With this situation, I am afraid the company will not reach 50 per cent of the target," Khanh said.

An official who works at the Buon Tu Srah Reservoir said last Friday that the dam could not accumulate enough water and the plant had to stay idle at daytime.

The Krong No River in Dak Nong Province is no longer fierce and deep as it used to be, and a drop of several dozen meters in water levels in the dam is clearly visible.

Ho Van Bay, deputy secretary of Duc Xuyen Commune's People's Committee, said water levels in streams that linked to the Krong No River were so low that people could walk to the other side.

Nguyen Van Than, director of the Dak Lak Electricity Company, predicted that the situation would worsen in the coming months.

Water levels at the Ialy Hydropower Plant on the Se San River in Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces have also been reported at critically low levels and output capacity of the dam is said to be at 50 per cent.

Ta Van Luan, director of Ialy Hydropower Company, said the company's production in the first eight months of this year has reached 50 per cent of that assigned by the Viet Nam Electricity Corporation. — VNS

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