With the return of El Nino, Vietnam, which aims to become a new global manufacturing hub, is facing energy challenges due to the early arrival of high temperatures.

Due to the sudden drop in hydropower generation, since June, the north of Vietnam, where Samsung, Foxconn, Canon and other “big factories” have settled, has fallen into power shortage. Many residents suffered prolonged power outages, and people took refuge in caves to avoid the heat. Industrial parks and manufacturing plants are being asked to reduce peak hours or rolling blackouts.

If this round of power shortage seriously affects the “big factory” production, it will put new pressure on Vietnam’s exports. Vietnam’s exports have fallen in the first five months of this year from a year earlier due to weak demand in Europe and the US.

Power shortage in northern China

Summer in the Southeast Asian country starts in May, but in early May this year, the highest temperatures in the northern part of the country have soared above 44 ° C. The early arrival of higher temperatures, while driving up demand for electricity, has also hit hydroelectric power in the north. Electricity is mainly generated from coal and water.

According to Vietnamese media statistics, as of last week, 11 hydropower stations in northern Vietnam were forced to shut down due to low river levels, some rivers even less than 40% of normal water.

Data compiled by the Vietnam Electricity Authority shows that as of June 5, all electricity supply in the north of the country was only 40.8% of the total installed capacity. Available hydropower capacity fell to 3,110 megawatts, or just 23.7 percent of installed capacity.

Coal-fired power generation suffered from equipment failures and other problems, and the power generation of coal-fired power plants in the northern region fell to 11,934 megawatts, only 76.6% of the designed power generation. In contrast to the arid north, central and southern Vietnam, which have received rains since last month, have not had serious electricity problems.

Tran Viet Hoa, head of the Vietnam Electricity Authority, said that even with support from the central and southern parts of the country, the northern region only generates between 17,500 megawatts and 17,900 megawatts. But local demand for electricity is between 23,500 MW and 24,000 MW.

Due to the high temperature and drought, the northern part of Vietnam has been taking energy-saving measures since the end of May. In Hanoi, the capital, public lighting was cut by an hour a day, and authorities urged people to set air conditioners above 26 degrees Celsius and switch off electronic devices that were not in use.

For business users, the authorities called on industrial enterprises to operate during off-peak hours. More than 10,000 businesses have agreed to the government’s proposal to reduce electricity consumption as much as possible.

But power outages have continued in northern towns, including Hanoi, since last week. Parts of Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem District were without power from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nghia Hao, a village in Chuong My District, has been without electricity for up to 12 hours a day since late May, sending residents fleeing to nearby caves to escape the heat.