Workers from Lai Chau Power Company install electric equipment for Thai ethnic people in Nam Nhun district (Photo: VNA)The national grid is now connected to all communes in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, helping locals escape poverty.
Ta Ba commune – a particularly disadvantaged area in Muong Te district – is one of the last communes to access the national power system.
Most families in Ta Ba commune are from the La Hu ethnic minority group and over 90 percent are living under the poverty line.
However, since locals gained access to electricity in June 2015, their life has improved, said Chairman of the communal People’s Committee Ly Nhu Chu, adding that many households have purchased electric equipment to serve their daily activities while children have appropriate study conditions.
Developing rural electricity networks is one of the important targets of the Party and State to promote the economy, society, national defence and security.
As such, the sector has actively coordinated with local authorities to expand the power network to rural and border areas.
So far, the province has built 1,378 kilometres of medium-voltage lines, 1,120 kilometres of low-voltage lines and 682 transformer stations.
The power sector has provided 37,430 households with investments worth over 1.4 trillion VND (64.2 million USD) to modernise rural areas and enable locals in mountainous areas to access science-technology and information services to improve their material and spiritual life.
The province expects to raise its rate of households using electricity to 92.4 percent by the end of next year from the current 84 percent.
The province also hopes to have 92.6 percent of its hamlets electrified by 2016.-VNA
