On April 22, 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Directive 11/CT-BCT regulating the information of mechanisms, policies and legal document systems on market-based electricity pricing, production and business to strengthen publicity and transparency in electricity production and business.
Tighter management over power industry
Directive 11 provides stricter, clearer regulations on market-based electricity pricing mechanisms in place of Decision 24/2011/QD-TTg dated April 15, 2011 of the Prime Minister (currently replaced by Decision 69/2013/QD-TTg dated November 19, 2013 on median electricity retail price adjustment mechanisms). According to this regulation (Clause 3 of Article 3 and Article 5), electricity pricing is made openly and transparently with the supervision of State management agencies and consumers.
According to Directive No. 11/CT-BCT, the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), and related agencies expeditiously make electricity business activities public and transparent, particularly pricing and price constituents. Specifically, electricity pricing is based on market mechanism. Announced contents include market price of electricity; transmission, distribution and supporting service expenses; average output power, surcharge demand and total electricity demand; supply sources and backups. At the same time, the publicity and transparency of electricity price constituents and selling price adjustment plans.
Petroleum trading companies must made public and transparent petroleum production and business results, released audited financial settlements, reports on production and business results (separating results of petroleum operations from other business operations), reports on corporate financial supervision, and credit ratings reports. Directive 11/CT-BCT also requires the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) to make public information relating to financial situation, State capital use, business operation results, provisions for funds and usages, payments to the State Budget, and payrolls.
Dang Huy Cuong, Director of ERAV, said the information will be announced as scheduled (180 days). “Although market prices are changeable, EVN will manage to ensure stable electricity prices as stipulated in the Decision 69 on the mechanism for adjusting average retail price of electricity. Accordingly, EVN must keep stable prices of electricity in at least six straight months,” he added.
Ensuring adequate power supply in peak season
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first four months of 2014, the power supply was stable and sufficient. Electricity production output was estimated at 41.94 billion kWh, up 10.28 percent over a year ago. Commercial electricity output was forecast at 38.15 billion kWh, a year on year increase of 7.38 percent. Hydropower contributed 35.6 percent to the power output in the four months, gas-fired thermal power accounted for 34 percent, coal-fired thermal power made up 27.7 percent, and the rest was provided by other sources.
Cuong said the power supply in the dry season in 2014 is quite stable. The supply is a bit tense in the southern region but it is not a matter in the northern region, except for the case of serious incident. The demand in May 2014 was projected at 12,599 billion kWh of electricity, up 6.65 percent over the same period in 2013.
EVN will continue to expand its grid network. It is urgently completing the 500kV high-voltage Pleiku – My Phuoc – Bong Bridge transmission line stretching on over 437 km. The work is scheduled to supply electricity for the southern region this dry season.
Hydroelectric plants will base on actual hydrological situations and water sources to have best operations throughout the dry season in 2014 while coal-fired and gas-fuelled power plants will be brought into full play to meet the demand. Oil-fuelled power production facilities will be used in case of necessity.
The electricity supply in May 2014 will be basically guaranteed and scheduled blackouts will be not necessary unless serious incidents occur.
Huong Ly
Đăng ký: VietNam News
