Several central wards in HCM City simultaneously experienced a power outage on July 31.
At around 7.30 pm, several central wards simultaneously experienced a power outage lasting roughly 30 minutes. The blackout affected households and traffic flow, with some intersections losing traffic light signals and causing localised congestion.
Luan Quoc Hung, Deputy General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation (EVNHCMC), said an unexpected technical fault caused the outage. Engineers are investigating the incident and working urgently to restore stability.
“Ho Chi Minh City's electricity sector apologises to residents for this unforeseen incident. The cause is under investigation, and further information will be shared with the public,” EVNHCMC stated.
A similar blackout occurred at 11.41 am on July 30, when multiple central districts lost power for nearly half an hour. EVNHCMC later confirmed that the outage stemmed from an abnormal incident at a 220kV transformer station, which temporarily disrupted the power supply. The corporation subsequently issued a public apology.
EVNHCMC noted that it has implemented various measures in recent years to improve power supply reliability. As a result, the System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) for customers has dropped from 28.85 times in 2010 to just 0.28 times in 2024.
Meanwhile, the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) has decreased from 3,964 minutes in 2010 to just 25.5 minutes in 2024, comparable to advanced economies in the region and on par with modern cities in Europe and the Americas.