In fact, the supply of fuel (coal, oil, gas) for power production does not meet the operational requirements. In which, the gas source in the Southeast is on a sharp decline in recent years, the amount of gas supplied for power production is only about 13.5-14 million m3/day on average, while the gas demand for operating the maximum capacity of gas turbine plants in the Southeast region is over 21 million m3/day. The amount of gas in the Southwest region for power production is only about 4 million m3 per day, on average, while the gas demand for maximum operation of Ca Mau gas turbine plants is about 6 million m3 per day.
Facing the above urgent situation, in order to ensure sufficient power supply for socio-economic development and people's daily activities, Vietnam Electricity proposes Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Corporation – JSC, PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer Joint Stock Company support and prioritize gas for power production in the two peak months of the dry season (May and June). In particular, in the immediate future, consider stopping the entire Ca Mau and Phu My fertilizer plants to prioritize gas for power production from now until the end of May.
It is forecasted that the operation of the power system in the hot summer months (May, June, and July) will be very difficult, especially since the northern power system shall face the situation of not being able to meet the demand for power. The peak load of the system with the maximum shortfall capacity ranges from 1,600MW to 4,900MW. Suppose the situation continues to be unfavorable as that in the past time. In that case, the amount of water inflowing the hydropower reservoirs and the supply of coal/oil/gas fuel for power plants does not improve, and the power system will fall into a critical situation, greatly affecting the supply of power for production and people's daily life.
In 2023, despite facing many difficulties due to the general fluctuations of the economy, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has made every effort to supply power for socio-economic development and people’s daily activities. However, in the first 4 months of 2023, the dry weather spread across the country, causing serious water shortages for hydropower reservoirs. By May 12, 2023, 13/47 large hydropower reservoirs reached the dead water level or near the dead water level, and most of the remaining hydropower reservoirs had water levels much lower than the water level specified in the procedure of reservoir/inter-reservoir regulation. On May 13, 2023, the Prime Minister issued an urgent message No. 397/CD-TTg on proactively implementing urgent measures to cope with the risk of heat, drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion.