The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) had by the end of July purchased nearly 2.2 billion kWh of power from China, a 13.2 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

The figure brought the total power output imported and locally purchased by EVN so far this year to 15.6 billion kWh, up 22.79 percent from a year ago.

EVN said that it will reassess domestic power production and consumption to make a new decision on how much electricity it will buy from China, and when, in the coming time.

In the January-July period, Vietnam produced nearly 41.1 billion kWh of commercial electricity, up 8.83 percent compared to the same period last year, nearly half, or 49.09 percent, of which was used for production, up 5.57 percent year-on-year, while the remainder was consumed by the public, a 12.08 percent year-on-year rise.

EVN estimated that the country’s average power production will be 250 million kWh this month with the highest production capacity reaching 13,800-14,100 MW.

EVN has asked the Hoa Binh hydroelectric power plant to maintain the Hoa Binh reservoir at its highest water level, in preparation for the next dry season and to increase usable capacity to ensure enough supply for additional demand.

It has also urged that further efforts should be made to complete power plants under construction in order to put them into operation as scheduled. In this month, EVN will start operating 11 electricity grids and begin construction of three others./.