Project delays cause power undersupply
Project delays cause power undersupply
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has warned of a possible power shortage after 2020, citing the slow progress of power projects in the country.
At a meeting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on July 17 on important national power projects, Phuong Hoang Kim, director of the Electricity and Renewable Energy Department, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the annual demand for electricity will increase by 8.6% by 2020, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.
According to the adjusted National Power Development Plan VII, the country expects to generate 21,650 megawatts of electricity by 2020.
Kim noted that power projects are now divided into three categories: those funded by Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV); those developed by independent power producers; and those executed under the build-operate-transfer format.
However, PVN and TKV have failed to ensure the progress of their projects, posing a high risk of a power shortage in the 2021-2025 period, Kim added.
He said regulations in the Planning Law also hinder the formulation and execution of power projects. Specifically, the plan for nearly 400 projects is facing obstacles. The obstacles to the Tay Bac, Bac Lieu, Ca Na and Long Son projects have been reported to the competent agencies, but these agencies have yet to take any action.
Further, these projects have encountered difficulties in site clearance and construction due to overlapping and complicated administrative procedures.
In addition, 89 solar farms with a combined design capacity of roughly 4,500 megawatts were put into operation. However, this boom in solar farms has caused an overload of the national grid.
The ministry will consider importing more electricity from the neighboring countries of Laos and China.
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh agreed that the power shortage risk is high. He ordered a review of the liability of investors in power projects that are lagging behind schedule.
He asked the ministry’s subordinates to accelerate the progress of projects by improving their execution methods, ensuring an adequate capital supply, applying technology and paying attention to amendments to regulations.
As for hydropower plants, the minister asked the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam and the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review the process to operate reservoirs.
According to the deputy head of the ministry’s Energy Saving and Sustainable Development Department, Trinh Quoc Vu, large enterprises account for some 40% of the country’s energy consumption volume, so the sector should seek solutions to encourage them to save energy, Mot The Gioi news site reported.
He said that the department will cooperate with EVN to have enterprises sign commitments to save 10% of their energy consumption volume this year.
