HANOI, May 15 (Reuters) - The Vietnamese government has called on businesses and households to do more to save energy, with electricity consumption in the Southeast Asian country surging as a result of hot weather.
o Electricity consumption hit its highest level of the year on Wednesday, reaching 1.1 billion kWh, state utility EVN said.
o Coal-fired power plants account for 53.4% of electricity output during peak hours, with hydropower plants accounting for 26%.
o A new heat wave is forecast to hit Vietnam in the last week of May, the government said on Thursday, putting pressure on the power grid.
o Businesses and households in Vietnam, a manufacturing hub, have in previous years suffered from blackouts during heat waves.
o EVN is seeking approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to raise its retail electricity price to absorb its accumulated losses, which stood at 5.6 trillion dong ($212.4 million) at the end of last year, state media reported on Friday.
o On Thursday, the Philippines also warned of power cuts of up to seven hours across its two main grids due to heat and power plant outages.
($1 = 26,364 dong)
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by David Stanway)
