The Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) is implementing three World Bank-funded projects at a total 590 million USD to upgrade the rural power grid in 1,500 communes in 27 provinces nationwide.

The group is also carrying out a project to light up more than 116,000 households in the Central Highlands between the 2006-2009 period, aiming at raising the percentage of households with access to electricity in the region to 90 percent.

In addition, a project on developing renewable energy and upgrading the power grid for mountainous and remote areas is underway in order to supply power to Khmer ethnic people in southern Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces and ethnics communities in northern Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces.

By early September, the group had developed low-voltage power grids in 1,900 communes nationwide to sell power directly to 1.85 million rural households. The figure will increase to 7.4 million by June 30, 2010.

To date, 94.43 percent of rural households throughout the country have access to electricity. This rate is higher than that of some other countries that are equally or even more economically developed. According to the World Bank’s assessment, Vietnam ’s investment in rural power has proved highly effective./.