After a month of applying competitive prices on electricity in Vietnam, EVN has managed to buy cheap power and sold it at fixed price, making a profit of several billion VND a day.
According to statistics, the competitive electricity market has officially come into life as of the 1st of July. 29 power plants participate directly in the market with total capacity of 9,035MW, and 34 power plants offer prices indirectly through corporations of Vietnam of Electricity (EVN) with total capacity of 7,745MW.
In the first week of July, daily total capital that EVN paid consistently with the market was about VND8.209 billion lower than the contractual prices.
Statistics also revealed that comparing revenues gained consistently with competitive electricity market and gained from former contracts, out of 24 power plants paying at competitive market prices, profits of 9 power plants were reduced, meanwhile other 15 ones enjoyed higher profits.
Total revenues of hydroelectricity plants participating in the competitive market have increased about VND5.4 billion, while total revenues of thermoelectricity plants in the market have reduce about VND16.6 billion. Regarding to estimation of leaders of EVN, after a month of applying the competitive electricity price market, total costs of buying electricity of EVN has reduce compared to buying at contractual prices.
Some hydroelectricity plants have increased revenues thanks to proper offering prices, gaining many contracts when water amount in reservoirs is enough. This strategy not only regulates water amount in reservoirs, increases revenues and profits, but also contributes to the reduction of market prices. The increase of capacity, productivity and decrease of market prices caused EVN to reduce orders in thermoelectricity plants and in plants offering high prices.
Buying the power at a bargain while electricity prices that EVN offers people and the society are stable, EVN gains profits that are several VND billion higher than before (not including the increase of electricity prices for households).
Hydroelectricity plants that have 100 percent or major part of shares belonged to EVN also enjoy big profits thanks to large selling volumes that compensate reduced selling electricity prices.
Mr Dinh Quang Tri, Deputy General Director of EVN said that, through 20 days of a competitive electricity price market, because hydroelectricity plants are taking advantages of high water and increasing capacity, they can lower prices to compete and get more orders. According to him, from October, hydroelectricity plants will have to save water and their capacity will fall. From November, the electricity sector will have to use coal and oil, therefore the market will go another direction.
He also said that only 29 plants participate in the generating market, producing 38 percent of total capacity. Out of their capacity, 95 percent is paid in the form of contracts, only 5 percent is paid at market prices. Therefore, the influence rate of EVN is negligible. It is the same for other electricity plants. Prices go up, they do not make larger profits; prices go down, they do not suffer losses.
An expert of Vietnam’s Energy Association said that, the current market cannot be called a competitive price market because every process from buying the electricity wholesale, transmitting, distributing electricity to retail points are still governed by EVN.
“The reduction of prices also means the reduction of input prices, and this part of profits totally runs into the account of EVN. It should have lowered prices and shared a part of difficulties with the consumers. It cannot claim price increase till 2015 despite high profits aiming to compensate losses of earlier years. That means EVN will always have advantages because prices at which it buys electricity from plants will reduce, while it sells the power at higher and higher prices” - The expert analyzed.
According to Mr Duong Quang Thanh, Deputy General Director of EVN, out of 29 electricity plants belonging to 22 generating enterprises that participate directly in the market with the capacity of 9,035MW, accounting for 38.2 percent of total capacity of the entire system, EVN possesses shares in 18 plants with total capacity of 8,073 MW, accounting for 34.2 percent of total capacity of the entire system.
Out of above-mentioned electricity plants, most of them belong to EVN, therefore, although they lower selling prices, they receive more orders and make larger profits. Thus, EVN gain profits not only from buying electricity at lower prices, but also from the increase of revenues of its electricity plants.
TP
Vietnamese
