HANOI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam plans to import more electricity from China and Laos in the coming years as its power supply is running out, Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Annual electricity imports from China and Laos are expected to increase to 3,000 megawatt (MW) by 2025 and 5,000 MW by 2030 from the current about 1,000 MW, the agency quoted Le Van Luc, deputy director of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, as saying.

Now, many power projects in Vietnam are lagging behind schedule. Almost all big and medium-sized hydropower sources have been used, and there remain only a few small ones for exploitation.

Therefore, hydropower will account for only 12.4 percent of all electricity supply in the country by 2030. That will add a further complication to the supply shortage, according to the authority.

Power supply sources that can be put into use between 2016 and 2030 have total capacity of about 78,300 MW, more than 17,500 MW lower than the expected figure in a revised national electricity development plan.

Most of the shortage will fall in the 2018-2022 period. In particular, electricity reserves will be almost used up in 2018 and 2019, and power shortages will occur from 2021 to 2025, the agency quoted many local electricity experts as saying.