HANOI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's state utility EVN has asked two leading fertilizer companies to halt operation until the end of May so that it would have more gas supplies for power generation, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Friday.

EVN sent the written request to state oil and gas group PetroVietnam, along with its two subsidiaries PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corp and PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertilizer Corp, highlighting imminent power shortages due to supply problems with coal, natural gas, and petroleum, coupled with recurring technical errors at some thermal power plants.

Vietnam's sole electricity distributor has warned of electricity shortages this summer amid squeezed hydropower and thermal power.

Hydropower plants are expected to cut their run rates as the El Nino weather pattern may develop in the later months of the year, while thermal power plants are faced with a shortage of coal supplies of up to 1.3 million tons due to low inventories.

Power consumption in the country's northern provinces is also forecast to increase in the May-July period, causing an electricity shortage of between 1,600 and 4,900 megawatts, EVN said. Enditem

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