More than 6,000 households, most of them ethnic Khmer, in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have been linked to the power grid under an ongoing project that seeks to achieve universal electrification. At the end of the VND228 billion ($10.94 million) two-phase project, nearly 19,000 households will have been connected. An additional 418 transformer stations will have been built to supply power to the families living in 83 remote villages in seven districts. In just the first phase, the ratio of households with power will increase from 87% to 94%. Thach Tha My, a Khmer farmer living in My Chanh village, Chau Thanh district, said: "My family has 0.35ha of cultivation land. I used to buy power from neighbours at high prices for farming. "Because many families share the same electricity line, the voltage is not stable. Thanks to the project, we now have electricity for household and agricultural purposes and no longer have to pay high prices." Duong Huy Bao, deputy chairman of the communal People's Committee, said villagers, many of whom are very poor, are happy to get power at more reasonable prices. (vietnamplus.vn Jul 20)
