EVN Proposes Power Price Hike for 2009-2012 Period

State-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) has recently proposed raising power price between 2009 and 2012, the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper reported.

 

Under proposal, EVN wants to hike the average retail power price from estimated VND925.24 (5.6 U.S. cents) per kWh in 2008 to VND1,017 (6.16 U.S. cents) per kWh in 2009, VND1,062 (6.43 U.S. cents) per kWh in 2010, VND1,060 (6.42 U.S. cents) per kWh in 2011, and VND1,125 (6.81 U.S. cents) in 2012.

 

Regarding power price of household consumption, EVN has mapped out two proposals for the first 100-kWh consumption.

 

Under the first proposals, the group wants to raise power price for the first 100 kWh by 36 per cent to VND750 (4.54 U.S. cents) per kWh from current VND550 (3.33 U.S. cents) per kWh.

 

Meanwhile, in its second solution, the group proposed to hike power price for the first 50-kWh consumption by 27.3 per cent to VND700 (4.24 U.S. cents) per kWh from current VND550 (3.33 U.S. cents) per kWh, and for the second 50-kWh consumption by 63.6 per cent to VND900 (5.45 U.S. cents) per kWh from current VND550 (3.33 U.S. cents) per kWh.

 

EVN also proposed the government to provide power price subsidies for poor people and preferential families with monthly consumption of less than 50 kWh. If they consume over 50 kWh of power per month, they will not get support from the government.

 

If EVN’s power price hike proposal is approved, the group’s pre-tax profits and profits of independent-accounting power companies and joint stock companies are estimated at between VND2 trillion (US$121.21 million) and 2.4 trillion (US$145.45 million) per year.

 

In case that the group’s proposal is declined, its losses are forecast to hit between VND9.5 trillion (US$575.75 million) and VND33.82 trillion (US$2.04 billion) per year upon its power generation growth rate of 14 per cent per annum.

 

Mr. Bui Xuan Khu, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade said that EVN’s power price hike is too high to Vietnam’s current situation, particularly Vietnamese people’s living condition. (Investment, Youth, News)