Due to the hot weather, electricity consumption last week set many new records, with consumption output nearly reaching the 1 billion kWh mark one day.
The Electricity Regulatory Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said last week the average daily electricity consumption reached nearly 947 million kWh, about 65.4 million kWh higher than the previous week. The North alone increased by more than 31.7 million kWh per day. The cause is the impact of the ongoing heat wave in three regions, especially in the North.
During the week, many new records were set. At 1:30 p.m. on April 27, the country’s largest capacity demand reached 47,670 MW, with consumption on April 26 reaching 994 million kWh.
Compared to the same period last year, the largest capacity of the national power system increased by 20.2%, with the North alone increasing by 19.9%. Meanwhile, output on April 26 increased by 23.1%, with the North alone increasing by 35.5%.
From the beginning of the year until now, nationwide electricity consumption demand has grown by about 11.2% compared to the same period in 2023, of which the North increased by 11.3%, the Central 8.5%, and the South 11.7%.
However, last week’s electricity supply continued to be guaranteed, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority. During the week, this agency economically operated hydroelectric reservoirs to maintain maximum water levels, ensuring both irrigation and electricity generation, especially during peak heat periods. The average daily production output of the week is about 175 million kWh.
The regulatory agency also increased the mobilization of coal thermal power with an output of 557 million kWh per day, 36 million kWh higher than the April plan. Currently, all available coal thermal power units of the system are mobilized. dynamic. During the week, no generating units stopped operating due to coal shortage, but there were still incidents and capacity declines, causing a shortfall of nearly 500 million kWh.
Gas thermal power sources are being mobilized on average about 91 million kWh per day, 13 million kWh higher than the April plan. Renewable energy (excluding hydropower) is mobilized about 106 million kWh per day.
During the week, electricity is still transmitted from the Central region to the North and South through the 500kV power grid.
According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, in the next 10 days, the heat may decrease in the evening, and in many places there will be rain and thunderstorms. Accordingly, peak capacity and electricity demand may decrease but still need to be closely monitored to ensure supply in all three regions.
In addition to mobilized resources, the regulatory agency considers plans to use oil sources when necessary. At the same time, they said they would create maximum conditions for new power plants to test.