Vietnam’s former energy minister, Vu Ngoc Hai has proposed several major options to neutralize the dilemma the power sector is facing, lifting it out of backwardness and stagnation.
Hai, who was dismissed in 1994 for involvement in the case of building the North-South 500 kV Transmission Line, causing total losses of VND3.1 billion (US$197,00), made the statement during a recent conference chaired by Minister of Industry Hoang Trung Hai.
According to the former minister, the electricity industry is facing a dilemma: both overseas and domestic investors do not want to invest into this sector due to the low output prices and per annum profit (at only about 3 per cent) whilst domestic consumers cannot afford higher power rates.
To solve the problem, the former minister recommended that the sector has to ensure its transparency and accountability while building effective and suitable plans on capacity expansion, output growth and of course price strategies.
So far, the country’s power sector has built 6 comprehensive roadmaps to ensure sufficient power for the economy, releasing the forecast electricity demand for every 5 years. However, except for the 500kV transmission lines, construction of most power projects do not meet set targets, causing power imbalances and shortages, the former minister stressed.
To ease shortages, the sector should balance outputs for the national grid and have enough power sources for reserve to help the economy run smoothly without any risks during power failure incidents.
The government and its relevant Ministries of Industry and Finance should prioritize investment capitals for the key power projects including hydro-, thermo-power and gas-fuelled sources with promising and safe nuclear power plants in the future.
To reduce dependence on the hydropower source, the sector should have built more thermal power plants tapping the on-spot coal and gas reserves, the former minister told the Minister of Industry.
According to Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the country needs about US$5 billion annually to build the 74 planned power project from now till 2025 in an effort to meet the power demand of the fast-growing economy with average electricity consumption of over 17 per cent per annum.
Hydropower plants account for 40 percent of Vietnam's around 11,500 MW of electricity generating capacity, while gas-fired plants generate 30 percent and the remainder is produced from coal- and fuel oil-fired plants.
The communist country is facing an estimated 180-200 million kWh usage this summer or 157,000 kW per day.
Youth, Vietnam Panorama
Vietnamese
