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dam-l LS: Vietnam power surplus seen as demand growth slows

Vietnam power surplus seen as demand growth slows 
                         12:02 a.m. Jun 23, 1999 Eastern 

                         HANOI, June 23 (Reuters) - Slowing power consumption
                         growth in Vietnam coupled with earlier rains has
eased a
                         long-term power crunch in the country, officials
said on
                         Wednesday. 

                         The communist-ruled state could be heading for a
generating
                         surplus and could sell electricity to neighbouring
Cambodia, they
                         said. 

                         ``At the beginning of the year (we) predicted that
power
                         demand in the first six months would increase by
12.5 percent,
                         but it appears the actual growth was about 7-8
percent,'' said an
                         official from the state monopoly Electricity of
Vietnam (EVN). 

                         He added that a general slowing of the Vietnamese
economy
                         was to blame. 

                         In March, EVN estimated that in 1999 Vietnam would
face a
                         generating shortfall of up to 500 million
kilowatt/hours, but the
                         official told Reuters the actual figure would be
less, or there
                         might even be a small surplus. 

                         Vietnam's economy is expected to grow three to
four percent
                         this year, down from 1998's official figure of 5.8
percent. 

                         The EVN official said the rainy season, which
arrived two
                         weeks earlier than normal in mid-April, had
brought good rainfall
                         over the country and topped up hydropower
reservoirs. 

                         Some 63 percent of Vietnam's power comes from hydro
                         sources. The rainy season in the country normally
runs from
                         May to October. 

                         Vietnam also sells small amounts of power to Laos. 

                         The EVN official said generating capacity would
increase later
                         this year when the new Yali hydropower plant came
onstream. 

                         Vietnam's annual power generating capacity is
estimated to be
                         between 5,179 megawatts and 5,500 MW. Last year the
                         country generated more than 17.7 billion kwh, down
from 19.7
                         billion kwh in 1997, mainly due to water shortages at
                         hydropower plants. 

                         Domestic consumption ate up 41 percent of the power
                         generated last year, industry 38.2 percent and
agriculture 12.9
                         percent, official figures show. 

                         ((Hanoi newsroom: Tel (84) 4-825-9623, Fax (84)
4-826-8606,
                         E-mail: hanoi.newsroom+reuters.com)) 


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                         shall not be liable for any errors or delays in
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Aviva Imhof
South-East Asia Campaigner
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703 USA
Tel: + 1 510 848 1155 (ext. 312), Fax: + 1 510 848 1008
Email: aviva@irn.org, Web: http://www.irn.org
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