Vietnam plans to buy more electricity from China as local energy supplies vie to keep up with the burgeoning economy.

Vietnam will spend roughly 160 million U.S. dollars purchasing 3.5 billion kWh of electricity this year from Yunnan province of China. Last year, the number of purchasing from China was 2.67 billion KWh.

Electricity Vietnam (EVN), the country's biggest electricity producer and sole distributor, will have to pay 4.5 U.S. cents for each imported kWh of electricity, and resell it to local consumers with price of 5.6-11 cents, said EVN deputy general director Nguyen Manh Hung. The company now is building 45 power plants with total capacity of 14,589 MW, which most are expected to come into operation in 2010.

The need of electricity in Vietnam is increasing at a staggering pace. The EVN is expected to increase its output by around 15 percent this year, while local demand is estimated to rise by 17-18 percent. In some provinces, the electricity demand increased 40 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Vietnam's GDP in 2007 was 8.44 percent.

Energy China