Can Vietnam’s plan to boost energy capacity work amid rolling outages, electricity shortages?

Millions across the nation and elsewhere in Southeast Asia face sweltering heat, at a time when the Ukraine war has limited power supplies

Vietnam’s government has approved an energy plan, but experts wonder how it will be implemented given it lacks billions of dollars of vital funding

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A view of Hanoi on May 30 as some street lights were turned off to save electricity. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:45am, 5 Jun 2023Updated: 7:18pm, 5 Jun 2023

In mid-May, during a period of extreme heat, Diep Nguyen lost power at her house in Ha Long City in northern Vietnam, when a forest fire knocked out a transmission line.

While difficult to deal with, it was not unexpected. “In the news there are daily discussions about power shortages that could occur due to extreme weather,” she said.

In response, Diep is reducing her electricity consumption with the help of an app that monitors her home’s energy use, while following government recommendations to set her air conditioning no lower than 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit).

“I’m trying to reduce my air-con use since I work from home and set up another workspace with just a fan,” she said. “If two or three people are home, we try to use the same room instead of each working in their own room with the A/C on.”

The family’s situation is far from unique, with tens of millions across the nation – and elsewhere in Southeast Asia – also having trouble dealing with the sweltering heat as global warming intensifies, and at a time when energy supplies are more limited thanks to the knock-on effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently warned of nationwide power outages for his country’s 100 million residents amid record temperatures and an unprecedented demand for electricity.

Can Vietnam’s plan to boost energy capacity work amid rolling outages, electricity shortages?

Millions across the nation and elsewhere in Southeast Asia face sweltering heat, at a time when the Ukraine war has limited power supplies Vietnam’s government has approved an energy plan, but experts wonder how it will be implemented given it lacks billions of dollars of vital funding

Millions across the nation and elsewhere in Southeast Asia face sweltering heat, at a time when the Ukraine war has limited power supplies

Vietnam’s government has approved an energy plan, but experts wonder how it will be implemented given it lacks billions of dollars of vital funding