Dien Bien (VNS/VNA) - Withthe new year approaching, ethnic minority people in Muong Nhe district, DienBien province have gotten a spark of joy and been connected to thenational power grid.

Local people are busy preparing for thecoming Tet (Lunar New Year)celebrations, and those preparations will be a little easier this year.

The Vietnam Electricity (EVN)project has helped link about 620 ethnic minority households in 15villages of Muong Nhe district’s Sin Thau, Chung Chai, Muong Nhe, Muong Toongand Pa My communes with the national grid.

Residents in Chung Chai commune’s Hua Sin 1and 2 villages said this year, they will have a happier Tet because they have electricity.

Previously, the villages became likeghost towns after dark but now, life has become more vibrant.

Electricity has brought new life to thevillages through the sound of televisions and lights in each house.

“Everything will be brighter since theelectricity is available. My children also study harder. I can also sew atnight. I am very happy,” said Lau Thi Cha, a resident from Hua Sin 1 village.

Hang A Ta, Cha’s neigbour, said people usedto use oil lamps, candles or burn firewood for light in the past.

Some families bought a generator and placedit under the stream to make use of water flow to produce electricity. But thispower source was often weak and the generator could not work due to a lack ofwater in dry season, Tà said.

“We are so happy. Life was so hard withoutelectricity.”

According to Hang A Sung, head of Hua Sin 1Village, nearly 50 Mong ethnic households in the village are benefiting fromthe project that connects them to the national grid.

The lives of local residents were still verydifficult and electricity was not available so people could not use radio or television,and being short of information kept them poor, Sung said.

Now electricity is available people can buyelectrical appliances for daily life and production, improving their quality oflife, he said.

Tran Duc Dung, Deputy Director of Dien BienElectricity Company, said the connection was a result of a project that startedin October and has been completed for more than two months.

With investment of more than 15 billion VND (645,300USD), the project installed 20km of electric lines and 10 transformer stations.

The journey to bring electricity tohouseholds in Muong Nhe district was not easy for the company because peoplelive scattered across the hills, said Dung.

Workers faced a lot of difficulties inbringing light to the villages such as weather and transportation acrosshigh passes.

But the project was completed and put intouse 12 days earlier than planned, he said.

Dung said the project aimed to supportsocio-economic development, guarantee security and improve theeducation level of the region.

The company plans to raise public awarenessof safe and efficient electricity use, Dung said.

Thao A De, Vice Chairman of the People’sCommittee of Muong Nhe district, said the number of households connected to thenational grid in the district has exceeded 80 percent, with 6,500 out of 8,000families accessing electricity.

Getting access to the national power gridwill help ethnic minorities eradicate hunger, alleviate poverty, improve livingstandards and promote socio-economic development, De said./.