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Energy sector needs consistent, effective management
EVN, a major state-owned electricity group, has refused to conduct 13 essential projects to develop electricity supplies due to a lack of capital. This refusal has sparked widespread controversy surrounding EVN and the role of relevant management agencies.
This occurred when the country is in dire need of electricity for its socio-economic development and international integration process.
EVN (Electricity of Vietnam Group) said it is implementing 200 projects to build 200-500kV grids and 40 projects to prepare electricity supplies and this requires a great amount of investment capital.
The group said it negotiated with many domestic and foreign banks but they refused to provide it with capital for the 13 “strategic” electricity projects that the Government assigned to the group. The group decided not to implement these projects for fear that it would not be able to ensure their construction pace and quality. EVN agreed to let other investors take over the projects, which have a combined capacity of 13,800MW.
Due to this fact, the Prime Minister criticized EVN for not fulfilling its role as a core body in providing power reliably and safely for socio-economic development. He demanded the group ensure sufficient capital for their ongoing and future projects.
Meanwhile, PetroVietnam, a group in the field of oil and gas, is seeking the opportunity to invest in the above projects after hearing the news that EVN will not conduct them.
Many, even officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, think that PetroVietnam is scattering their investments and doing business unrelated to its scope of operation.
However, coal, gas, oil and electricity are all just different kinds of energy.
In the meantime, many private as well as state-owned enterprises are getting involved in the process of producing, managing and distributing electricity. This has helped reduce the “monopoly” held by EVN thus far and alleviated the shortage of power.
It seems there are considerable weaknesses in the macro-management and planning of the electricity sector.
Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Director General of EVN, said there should be a national committee on developing energy sources to deal with power shortages and the shortcomings in supplying enough coal and oil for electric power production.
VOV
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