Tran Viet Hoa, director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam under the MoIT, stated on June 7 that power supply difficulties do exist.

He said that the total accessible capacity of the northern power system (including imported electricity) that can be mobilised to satisfy electricity demand is between 17,500 and 17,900MW (approximately 59.2 per cent of the installed capacity).

This capacity consists of approximately 2,500 to 2,700MW of transmission from the south and central regions to the north via the 500kV Nho Quan-Ha Tinh transmission line.

During the approaching sweltering days, electricity demand in the north may reach 23,500 to 24,000MW. Thus, the northern grid will fall short by approximately 4,350MW. According to Hoa, the system confronts the danger of capacity scarcity for the majority of the day.

Hoa confirmed that many provinces and cities in the North have intermittently shut off the power recently due to supply issues.

General director of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Tran Dinh Nhan stated, "From mid-April to the present, it has been problematic to supply enough electricity to customers."

According to EVN, the intense heat and the impact of the El Nino phenomenon in many regions of the country have driven up people's daily electricity demands. This, coupled with the extremely low water levels in hydroelectric reservoirs, has had a significant impact on the power supply during the dry season of 2023.