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The Economic Commission hearing to respond to concerns about future power shortages – Photo: CTV
This morning (September 7), the Vice President of the National Assembly, Phung Quoc Hien, presides over the explanation of “the current situation and solutions for electricity development until 2030 to meet the requirements of socio-economic development.”
The “main character” of the explanation session is the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Tran Tuan Anh.
Every year, it takes between 8 and 10 billion dollars to invest in electricity.
Referring to the balance of energy supply and demand in the 2021-2030 period, Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that the demand for cargo in the next period will be substantially lower than the previous forecast results due to the impact of the epidemic. COVID-19.
“Commercial electricity demand will maintain an increase of around 8% in the period 2021-2030. Power capacity in 2030 is expected to be around 138,000 MW, of which coal-fired power accounts for 27%, energy thermal oil and gas accounts for 19% “. Hydropower represents 18%, wind and solar energy 28%, imports 5%, the rest are other sources ”- he said.
Acknowledging the shortcomings and limitations in power development in the past period, Minister Tuan Anh stated: “Many power source projects are behind schedule compared to planning, seriously affecting future supply assurance. The total capacity of the traditional energy sources that can be put into operation in the 2016-2020 period will only reach about 60% ”.
“Renewable energy sources are growing rapidly, but the power transmission system to release capacity has not been developed in a synchronized way. Some power projects (mainly solar power) in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces, with a total capacity of around 690MW, had to limit a part of the transmission power ”, affirmed the Minister.
Another point is that “ensuring fuel for electricity generation is increasingly dependent on imports. Vietnam already has to import coal and there will be imports of LNG for electricity generation. It is estimated that about 60 million tonnes will have to be imported. coal and 12 million tons of LNG by 2030 ”.
In such a context, the “mobilization of capital for energy projects faces many difficulties. On average, each year, the demand for investment capital for energy sources and networks is approximately 8-10 billion dollars. State corporations face many difficulties. financially, it is also difficult to get capital for their projects “.
It is worth mentioning that so far “there is no bidding mechanism for contracting investment capital for the electricity sector; there are no sanctions that oblige investors to carry out electricity projects.”
The Minister also recognized that “state management in the investment preparation and implementation process is still inadequate; the provisions of the law overlap, they are not clear; lack of specific mechanisms for the development of the electricity sector, especially urgent and important projects “.
The Vice President of the National Assembly, Phung Quoc Hien, raised the issue of the current situation of electricity prices that did not follow the market mechanism – Photo: CTV
Why are electricity prices “just going up”?
That is the issue raised by many members of the National Assembly in the explanation session. “Both the entry price of electricity and the sale price of electricity have not followed the market mechanism, thus reducing the motivation for development, is it?” – Asked the Vice President of the National Assembly, Phung Quoc Hien.
Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that the government has led the preparation of conditions step by step to improve the competitive electricity environment. So far, the competitive power generation environment has been completed, 94 power plants have entered this market. The competitive environment for wholesale electricity has been gradually completed.
The last stage is competitive retail electricity, which is currently being tested for a fully competitive electricity environment by 2024. “Consequently, if the price of electricity increases or decreases according to the input price mechanism, the cost of production will determine the price of electricity on the basis of openness and transparency in accordance with the laws of the market with equal competition of participants in the electricity market “- said Minister Tran Tuan Anh.
Finance and Budget Committee Vice Chairman Hoang Quang Ham asked: “From 2011 until now, there have been 9 adjustments of retail electricity prices, of which 9 times have been adjusted to increase but not decrease. mind that outdated retail rate … When can we talk about lowering electricity prices? ”
Minister Tran Tuan Anh explained the fact that from 2011 until now, we have not been able to ensure the balance of electricity production costs for EVN and other manufacturers. The input factors, the cost of electricity production always increased but did not decrease.
In addition, according to the Price Law, we set the retail price tariff for electricity approved by the Prime Minister to ensure socio-economic regulation and social security. Recently, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, oil and gas prices in the world have decreased, the ministry has also proactively proposed a 10% reduction in the price of electricity with EVN (which causes EVN to reduce revenue by over VND 10,000 trillion). VND), helping to reduce difficulties for individuals and companies.
The head of Industry and Commerce also stated that he is actively investigating and completing options on the retail electricity rate. Recently, after collecting people’s opinions, in which public opinion reflects the inappropriate points, the ministry has aimed to maximize absorption to study, continue to adjust the options so that they are truly adequate. use.
Coinciding with the Ham delegates in the view that it should be truly open, transparent and equal in the development of electricity according to the market mechanism, Minister Tran Tuan Anh stated that by 2024 when there are sufficient conditions for commercialization. In the field of electricity, the State will not interfere in the price, the market will decide the increase or decrease in electricity prices.
“Then we only apply policies to support electricity prices to the poor, the beneficiaries of the policy to guarantee social security” – said the Minister.
Minister Tran Tuan Anh made 6 recommendations to ensure sufficient power supply
1. Supplement the authority to decide on investment policies for Group A projects with a total investment of 2.3 trillion VND to less than 5 trillion VND using state capital outside the budget of state groups and corporations to be an investor. The authority to propose to decide on investment policies for these projects belongs to the Prime Minister.
2. For Group A electrical works construction investment projects already included in the electrical development plans approved by the Prime Minister, the proposal is to allow investors not to prepare pre-feasibility study reports. A feasibility study report is immediately prepared to decide on the project investment.
3. Allow the application of the State loan mechanism with preferential interest rates for investment loans from State investment credit sources or be granted with a Government guarantee on the loan capital in accordance with the provisions of the law of management. public debt for investment and development of projects in the energy industry.
4. For energy projects where pre-feasibility study reports are required, investors can commit to ensuring environmental protection (without having to prepare and submit environmental impact assessment reports for approval). ). The preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report will be carried out during the Feasibility Study Phase.
5. Allowing power projects that are works built under urgent orders or constructed to ensure the security of electricity supply, only the Prime Minister’s planning adjustment policy is required. planning without having to perform planning adjustment procedures.
6. Consider authorizing line ministries to assign some work in the process of developing and adjusting sectoral plans.
