Thau Village is next door to the Vietnam’s largest hydropower facility, but it has been without electricity for decades and is still dark more than three months after it was connected to the plant.

Oil lamps light the tiny enclave at night while other villages in the area, many of which are farther from the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant, have all been connected to the national power network for years.

“Oil lamps cost more than electric ones,” said a Thau resident, “but there’s no other choice.”

Many residents had bought electric lights, televisions and refrigerators after wires were connected to their homes. But the machines now sit collecting dust.

Village head Trinh Huu Luy said Thau locals paid to have wires connected to their homes but the juice had only been turned on for a 15 minute trial in September.

Local resident Nguyen Khac Kinh was looking forward to turning on electric lights in his house and the television he bought for VND1 million (US$54). “The more I wait, the more I’ve become disappointed.”

His neighbor Do Viet Chanh spent VND4 million on a TV set and a refrigerator. But Chanh has covered the fridge carefully in a corner and lent the TV to his relative.

Chanh said he was “so happy” about the power project that he also bought a cell phone. But now he has to go to leave his village anytime he wants to charge it.

Source: VNA