(Bloomberg) -- Power blackouts in northern areas of Vietnam are affecting industrial parks that host multinational manufacturers including Canon Inc. as searing heat spurs air-conditioner usage, driving electricity consumption to overwhelm supply.

Outages in some northern provinces including Bac Giang and Bac Ninh include parts of industrial parks, the state utility Vietnam Electricity Group’s northern unit said on its website. The industrial parks host multinational companies.

• Canon’s factory in Bac Ninh province faces an outage from 8 a.m. on June 5 to 5 a.m. on June 6, the unit said.
• Bac Giang’s local government ordered factories to move part of their production until after 10 p.m., while turning off or dimming lighting to 50% in public areas, according to the provincial news website.

Further disruptions to electricity supply are probably unavoidable as demand overloads grids, the utility said. Consumption in northern Vietnam is expected to continue increasing in early June amid intense heat, it said.

The country’s trade ministry has asked government agencies to increase coal and gas output as the nation grapples with power shortages amid heat waves, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said during a briefing on Saturday. Most cities and provinces issued directives for electricity savings, resulting in a reduction of about 2.5% of daily consumption, Hai said without giving the time frame.

Read More: Vietnam Seeks Increase in Coal, Gas Supply Amid Power Crunch

Blistering summer weather and reduced water levels in hydropower reservoirs are straining Vietnam’s grid. Thousands of factories have been forced to curb consumption and the government has implemented planned blackouts. Policymakers are now scrambling to find ways to boost electricity supply, either by quickly clearing completed renewable projects or bringing in liquefied natural gas imports for the first time.

--With assistance from Linh Vu Nguyen.

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