HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s electricity firm EVN has signed five new deals to buy electricity from Laos starting from next year, the state-run company said.
The southeast Asian nation faces severe power shortages from 2021, as demand outpaces construction of new plants, with demand expected to exceed supply by 6.6 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2021, and 15 billion kWh in 2023.
Pacts signed in Hanoi over the weekend with Laos’ Phongsubthavy and Chealun Sekong groups provide for EVN to buy electricity from five hydropower plants, beginning in 2021 and 2022, EVN said.
The plants have combined capacity of 363 megawatts, it added, but gave no details.
