Production halted at 11 hydropower plants

Due to a significant drop in water levels, 11 hydropower plants in the North have been forced to cease generating electricity to ensure safety, resulting in a shortage of approximately 5,000MW.

The Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has reported that nine hydropower reservoirs are currently below the dead water level, including Lai Chau, Son La, Thac Ba, Tuyen Quang, Ban Ve, Hua Na, Trung Son, Thac Mo, and Tri An. As a result, 11 facilities in Son La, Lai Chau, Huoi Quang, Thac Ba, Tuyen Quang, Ban Ve, Hua Na, Trung Son, Tri An, Dai Ninh, and Pleikrong have had to shut down operations.

The situation has been further exacerbated by a decrease of 40% in water flow into the lake in May compared to the long-term average, equivalent to only 22% of 2022’s figure. Technical staff are working around the clock to ensure that Unit 3 of the Thac Ba Hydropower plant can continue to operate at its minimum level (15MW) to supply water downstream. However, if the water level falls below 45m, this unit may also have to be stopped due to the great risk to its operation. The MoIT’s Electricity Regulatory Authority has estimated that there is a lack of 30.9-50.8 million kWh every day, which has resulted in Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) having to cut off electricity in the North.

The government has asked the MoIT to guide EVN in developing scenarios for electricity supply management for the North, and to check and inspect coal-fired power plants that are having problems, implement fixes, and put them into operation as soon as possible.