The national power grid is at risk of being overloaded. The government also asked industries to reduce their activities during peak hours. Vietnam and other countries in the region registered record temperatures of up to 45 degrees.
Hanoi ( / Agencies) – Local authorities in the Vietnamese capital have decided to turn off public lighting to keep the national electricity grid running in case demand for air conditioning increases, while the country is facing an intense heat wave. “It’s so hot outside that people have to wear protective clothing to cool down and not get burned,” said a 67-year-old Hanoi resident.
Although temperatures this week are expected to range between 26 and 38 degrees Celsius, the national weather agency warned that the extreme heat could continue throughout the month of June. The country’s largest power company, Vietnam Electricity (EVN), said demand for air conditioning could overload the national power grid. To deal with the problem, Hanoi decided to turn on public lighting half an hour later and turn it off half an hour earlier, while in some streets and parks it will be cut in half. “If all people save energy, everyone will have enough electricity. If not, there will be a partial overload, endangering the power grid,” said Luong Minh Quan, an EVN employee.
Last week, the Vietnamese government asked its citizens to turn off electronics when not in use and keep air conditioning above 26 degrees, while government offices were ordered to reduce electricity consumption by 10%. Local authorities are also trying to convince industries to reduce their activities during peak hours to avoid excessive load across the country. So far, more than 11,000 companies have agreed to reduce consumption as much as possible.
Earlier this month, Vietnam had recorded its highest temperature ever, 44.2 degrees Celsius, in the northern district of Tuong Duong. Between April and May, there were also peaks of 43-45 degrees in Laos and Thailand. According to some studiesDue to climate change, heat waves will be three to ten times more frequent by the end of the century. The area most at risk is the tropics, which includes much of Asia, where “extremely hot” days (above 51 degrees) could double.
