Electricity output at the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant hit 250 billion kWh at 2.05am on May 25. (Photo: VNA) Work on the 1,920MW plant, one of the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, began in 1979 and it was put into full operation in 1994.
In the decades since, the plant has been seen as a symbol of not only the sustainable friendship between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union (now Russia) but also of the domestic electricity sector.
Covering an area of 99.62 ha in Hoa Binh city, the expanded project received investment from Vietnam Electricity (EVN) totalling over 9.22 trillion VND (398.9 million USD), 30 percent of which was arranged by EVN and the remainder from commercial loans without a government guarantee.
It comprises two turbines with a total capacity of 480MW and electricity output of about 488.3 million kWh per year.
Director of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Company Nguyen Van Minh said the plant’s annual output was previously equal to its designed capacity of around 8.16 billion kWh, meeting demand in the northern region and part of the southern region’s demand and contributing to addressing power shortages in the latter at that time.
Since 2010, output has reached 10 billion kWh per year, 24.2 percent above the designed output, with a record set in 2017 of 11.25 billion kWh.
Along with ensuring energy security, in recent years the company has contributed 1-1.4 trillion VND (43.5-60.9 million USD) each year to Hoa Binh’s provincial budget and 300-450 billion VND in natural resources taxes to neighbouring Son La province./.
VNA
