Vietnam is likely to encounter electricity shortage of 4.3-10.3 billion kwh between 2007 and 2009, local newspaper Labor reported Wednesday.

To cope with the shortage partly fueled by increasing electricity demand, Vietnam is upgrading and facilitating construction of power plants, buying more electricity from China, and calling for individuals and organizations to save power, said the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the country's biggest power producer and sole distributor.

Vietnam plans to annually buy 0.7-1 billion kwh of electricity from China between 2007 and 2016, said the state-owned corporation EVN.

EVN, which produced 28.4 billion kwh of electricity in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent, said it can meet the domestic demand for the commodity in the coming months.

Water level in reservoirs in the country's biggest hydroelectricity generator, the Hoa Binh Hydroelectricity Plant, is now 10 meters higher than that in July 2005. In addition, electricity producers in the south have so far this year transmitted nearly 2.6 billion kwh via the 500-kv transmission line to the north, helping reduce the risk of electricity shortage in the region in the coming months.

Vietnam plans to increase its electricity capacity to 25,000-26, 000 mw in 2010 from 11,400 mw in 2005, meeting demand for its socio-economic development, according to the country's Industry Ministry.

Source: Xinhua