|
Power generators says it’s high time to raise electricity prices
During a midyear review at the Ministry of Industry, power sector chieftans called on the Government to raise electricity tariffs, saying that the current low tariffs dissuade enterprises from investing in power generation.
General Director of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group Tran Xuan Hoa said that Vinacomin is considering developing its own power grid in the Quang Ninh coal mining area to ensure the safety of production now troubled by regular electricity cuts.
Dao Van Hung, Chairman of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), citing ‘world experience,’ asserted that every dong of underspending on power causes at least three dong of real and intangible costs to Vietnam’s society. Continued power shortages will threaten Vietnam’s ability to reach other targets, including the 2010 target of 6.5 percent growth.
Hung called the electricity shortage the consequence of an average electricity price so low that investors refuse to make investment in power projects.
Currently, power producers are paid just 5.3 US cents (1058 dong) per kwh, much less than producers nearby regional countries. Investors insist that they must have a guaranteed offtake price of at least 8 cents.
Under fire for mismanagement of power shortages this year, EVN has consistently blamed ‘bad weather’. Hung’s stance is a considerable turn-around. There now appears to be an industry consensus that it is high time to reconsider the power pricing scheme. “With power prices set so low, we cannot attract investment in power projects,” Hung said.
“We may consider subsidizing electricity costs for poor people, but if we do not adjust the general power price, the nation’s plans for power project development will not be fulfilled,” said CEO Hoa of Vinacomin.
Hung, the EVN CEO, said that in the context of the increasingly high demand and serious drought, the national electricity monopoly has mobilized power from all available sources to sustain production and support the people’s life. It has had to buy power from some sources at high prices. In the last six months, EVN’s losses have totalled 4700 billion dong (About $250 million).
Hung emphasized that the current electricity shortage is not a result of EVN’s monopoly control of the sector.
He reported that EVN has equitised nine power plants, including Cat Ba, Pha Lai, Vinh Son-Song Hinh, and Vung Ang. EVN now has 18 power of Vietnam’s 40 plants and accounts for only 47 percent of Vietnam’s power generation capacity. This will fall to 37.5 percent of the total capacity by 2015. Independent power producers including TKV and PetroVietnam will account for the rest.
Also according to Hung, it is necessary to establish a national power authority to purchase and sell electricity. It should belong to a state agency instead of EVN. In that case, EVN will not hold the monopoly in power generation and power distribution any more.
When asked why EVN does not purchase more electricity from independent thermal power producers, Hung said that EVN wants to purchase electricity, but the problem here is the price. If EVN purchases power at high prices, it will have to sell power at high prices which will burden businesses and people.
It is planned that from 2013, Vietnam will begin to import coal. “The question here is whether power companies will have the money to purchase coal at high prices. It is necessary to harmonize the prices of coal to be imported and the prices of electricity to be sold,” Hung said.
vietnamnet, Dan tri
|
