Vietnam Vows to Keep Lights on in Electronics Hub:

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s state electricity monopoly says power shortages will be avoided in its northern electronics hub — where Apple Inc. suppliers and Samsung Electronics Co. have major factories — despite surging demand and anticipated heat waves.

Vietnam Electricity Group said extreme heat is expected in northern Vietnam this month, likely pushing the region’s peak demand to over 27,000 megawatts for July, according to a new report. The region, which plays a significant role in the global electronics supply chain, experienced major blackouts last year because of hot weather and malfunctions at coal-fired plants.

“We see no issues in power supply for the whole year,” a utility representative said in an email. Vietnam’s average daily power consumption in July may climb 10.2% year-on-year to 920.5 million kilowatt-hours, EVN said.

Vietnam’s coal electricity output jumped to 86.3 billion kilowatt-hoursthis year through June, representing 57% of the nation’s power mix, up from 49.5% a year earlier.

In an effort to reduce the risk of future electricity shortages and the nation’s reliance on coal-fired power, Vietnam earlier this month allowed major users to begin buying renewable energy directly from developers, bypassing the state monopoly.

The utility continues to ask customers to set air conditioners’ temperatures at no less than 26C (78.8F) and refrain from using multiple high-capacity electric devices at the same time, especially during peak hours of 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 7 p.m.-11 p.m.

(Corrects to say peak demand in the second paragraph.)

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