Hundreds of residents in Quynh Hoi commune, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh province on June 18-19 escorted commune officials to the local power office asking for fair power supply.

During the recent heat wave, Quynh Phu District Power Company cut power to the area very often without informing the local citizens. Moreover, they abused their power by supplying electricity to only customers who paid for direct connection from power stations.

Rampant power cuts on days with temperatures reaching above 40 degrees Celsius and during the World Cup, which made local people angry. They flocked to Quynh Hoi commune People’s Committee to show their feelings to local officials of the Quynh Phu District Power Company and Quynh Phu District People’s Committee to ask for more consistant power supply.

Extremists forced some workers of the Quynh Phu District Power Company to expose themselves to the sun, and confined others into closed houses to “taste” the heat themselves. They also cut off the power grid to the house of Quynh Phu district’s chairman.

In early June, a senior official of the power sector admitted rampant power cuts in many regions and unreasonable attitude of some power workers when they received the people’s feedbacks. The official promised to solve these mistakes.

However, power cuts have continued to be rampant, especially in rural areas during the recent heat wave, when average temperatures in Vietnam reached their highest levels in 50 years. It is estimated that since early June, the power output for the countryside has fell by 10-15 percent. It is reported that power supply will resume normally as of June 20.

Van Anh