Vietnamese government approves claim to import electricity from Laos. Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has signed 18 power

purchase contracts (PPAs) with Lao power plant investment owners, with electricity from 23 power generation projects.

According to the report, in recent years, due to the needs of cooperation between the two sides, the Vietnamese government

and the Lao government signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016 on cooperative development of hydropower projects,

grid connection and import of electricity from Laos.

In order to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments, in recent years, EVN has actively

promoted the power purchase and sales cooperation activities with the Lao Electric Power Company (EDL) and the Lao Electric

Power Generation Company (EDL-Gen) in accordance with the energy development cooperation policies of the two countries.

At present, EVN is selling electricity to 9 regions of Laos near the border between Vietnam and Laos through the 220kV-22kV

-35kV grid, selling about 50 million kWh of electricity.

According to the report, the governments of Vietnam and Laos believe that there is still a lot of room for the development of

mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the field of electricity. Vietnam has a large population, stable

economic growth and high demand for electricity, especially its commitment to achieve zero emissions by 2050. Vietnam is

striving to ensure that the electricity demand for socio-economic development is met, while transforming energy into a green,

clean and sustainable direction.

So far, the Vietnamese government has approved the policy of importing electricity from Laos. EVN has signed 18 power

purchase contracts (PPAs) with 23 power generation project owners in Laos.

Laos hydropower is a stable power source that does not depend on weather and climate. Therefore, it is not only of great

significance for Vietnam to speed up economic recovery and development after the COVID-19 pandemic, but also can be

used as a “basic” power to help Vietnam overcome the capacity changes of some renewable energy sources and promote a

faster and stronger green transition of Vietnam’s energy .

According to the report, in order to strengthen cooperation in power supply in the future, in April 2022, the Ministry of

Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Laos agreed to take measures, including close

cooperation, speeding up investment progress, completing transmission line projects, and connecting the power grids

of the two countries.