PhnomPenhPost/ANN/VientianTimes-May 5
The Vietnam government plans to import more electricity from Laos as part of urgent measures to prevent potential power shortages, placing Laos in an increasingly strategic position as a regional energy supplier. According to a government directive issued following a recent high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Vietnamese authorities have been instructed to ensure uninterrupted energy supply, with particular emphasis on importing more electricity from neighboring countries, including Laos and China. The directive emphasizes Vietnam’s growing reliance on cross-border power trade, with Laos emerging as a key partner due to its expanding portfolio of hydropower and renewable energy schemes. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been instructed to build more power lines so that more electricity can be transmitted to northern Vietnam, with implementation targeted as early as 2027. Recent data underlined Laos’ rising importance in Vietnam’s energy mix. Laos transmitted a record 2.92 billion kWh of electricity to Vietnam in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for about 3.8 percent of the neighboring country’s total power output, according to a report by Tuoi Tre News citing Vietnam Electricity. The figure represents a surge of nearly 120 percent, compared to 1.33 billion kWh supplied in the same period of 2025, reflecting stronger cross-border transmission links and the commissioning of new renewable energy projects in Laos. By the end of 2025, Vietnamese authorities had approved electricity imports from 47 projects in Laos with a combined capacity of 8,260MW. Of these, power plants with installed capacity of 2,379MW supplied power last year, up from 1,700MW in 2024, indicating a rapidly expanding pipeline of export-oriented generation. In a new development, the Vietnamese government has signaled openness to revising inter-governmental agreements and adjusting its power development plan to further scale up electricity purchases from Laos. This is expected to create additional opportunities for Lao energy exports as more projects come online. This supports the Lao government’s aim to position Laos as a significant regional energy exporter, leveraging its abundant hydropower resources alongside growing investments in wind and solar energy.
Read more at: https://phnompenhpost.com/international/vietnam-turns-to-laos-for-electricity-to-prevent-power-shortage/
