Hanoi (VNA) - The Electricity ofVietnam (EVN) Group will ensure safety and reliability of its transmissionnetworks, particularly the North-South 500kV transmission line, during the dryseason with an anticipated surge in demand.

The State-run group plans to produce anaverage of 578 million kWh of electricity per day with the additional charge capacityhitting 31,700 MW in June, one of the hottest months in the year and a peaktime for power consumption.

A blistering heat wave hit northern andcentral Vietnam in the first week of June with temperatures hovering around 37– 40 degrees Celsius. The two regions were exposed to temperatures above 35degrees Celsius for 10 – 18 hours per day while the temperature reached 42.5degrees Celsius in some areas of the north.

The hot spell led to record power usage of629 million kWh on June 2, pressuring the system. Hanoi reported the highestpower consumption in history, over 77 million kWh, on June 5, an increase of 47percent from the same day last year.

According to the National Centre forHydro-meteorology Forecasting, the northern and central regions of Vietnam arelikely to experience one more hot spell this month.

To ensure power supply during upcomingnational high school examinations and the third session of the 14th National Assembly, EVN has directed its member companies to prepare allnecessary facilities and work around the clock to handle any emergency.

It also decided not to cut off electricity formaintenance and advised customers to save power by turning off electricitydevices when they are not in use and setting air conditioners to at least 26degrees Celsius.

Additionally, the firm announced in May thatit will reduce the number of days required for a customer to get power accessfrom 10 to seven and streamline the procedure from three to two steps in aneffort to improve service quality.-VNA