A woman wears sunglass, mask, hat and a sun protective shirt to avoid sunlight on a very hot day in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — Power outages that have occurred in some areas of Hà Nội are to ensure the safe operations of the system as electricity consumption has sharply increased due to prolonged, extremely hot weather.

The Hà Nội Electricity Corporation (EVN HANOI) said that the demand for electricity has increased dramatically, posing many risks, even the risks of fires and explosions will be higher than normal.

To ensure the safety of the power system’s operation, the company has to temporarily suspend the supply of electricity in some areas for short periods of time.

Statistics from EVN HANOI showed that the average daily electricity consumption across the city was 58,336 million kWh in March; 61,542 million kWh in April; and up to 75,406 million kWh in May.

It means that the average daily electricity consumption in May increased by more than 22.5 per cent compared to April.

EVN HANOI says it sympathises with customers' difficulties and also recommends that customers limit the use of high-capacity electrical equipment during peak times from 10am to 2pm and from 8pm to 11pm.

Residents’ misery

One resident living in Thạch Bàn Ward, Long Biên District said yesterday: “The power cut started at 7.30am this morning.

“The temperature is very high, it’s so hot, and there is no electricity, our children and the elderly are very tired.”

Another resident living in Nguyễn Đức Cảnh Street, Hoàng Mai District, said that his apartment complex had a power cut all day on Thursday.

“I feel very uncomfortable,” he said.

“On such a hot day, the temperature is nearly 40 degrees Celsius, it is not a suitable time to cut off the power.”

Consumption on the rise 

On May 19, the level of electricity consumption in the whole country increased to a very high level of more than 924 million kWh per day. It is the highest daily electricity consumption since the beginning of this year and it is about 10.5 higher than the same day last year.

In June, it is forecast that the electricity consumption of the national power system will continue to increase, the company said.

In the meantime, hydropower reservoirs also recorded a serious water shortage. By the end of May, the equivalent electricity output in the hydropower reservoirs of the whole system was only 2.35 billion kWh, about 1,736 billion kWh lower than the schedule.

Eight out of 12 hydropower reservoirs in the north recorded water levels near the dead water level.

Some large hydroelectric reservoirs of Sơn La, Lai Châu, Tuyên Quang, Hủa Na and Thác Bà already have very low water levels and face the risk of dead water levels if the hydro-logical situation is not improved.

In addition, some coal-fired power plants have also suffered from capacity reduction or problems due to continuous high operation in hot weather conditions for a long time.

On June 1, coal-fired power plants of Phả Lại 1, S6 Phả Lại 2, S2 Cẩm Phả, S1 Vũng Áng 1, S2 Nghi Sơn 2, S2 Mạo Khê, S1 Quảng Ninh, S2 Thăng Long, S1 Sơn Động, experienced problems.

Currently, the power outage schedule has been updated by the company on the internet. Customers can update the schedule to proactively arrange work. — VNS