Vietnam's electricity output has so far this year reached nearly 53.8 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 12.7 percent, the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam ( EVN) said on Friday.

The EVN, the biggest electricity producer and sole distributor in Vietnam, said that of the output, the commodity electricity accounts for over 46.7 billion kWh, up nearly 13.6 percent against the same period last year.

Vietnam may encounter an electricity shortage in the near future because some power plants will cease operation for scheduled repair and maintenance, and water flows to hydroelectric plants in the northern region will become smaller in the last quarter of this year.

Vietnam is accelerating construction of power stations, importing electricity from China, and planning to increase electricity selling prices by 8 percent in either December 2006 or January 2007, the EVN said.

Vietnam's electricity demand is forecast to grow 15-16 percent annually until 2010, according to the Vietnamese Industry Ministry. It plans to increase its electricity capacity to 25,000-26,000 MW in 2010 from 11,400 MW in 2005, meeting demand for its socio- economic development.

Source: Xinhua