EVN faces unprecedented difficulties: industry minister

State utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) is facing unprecedented challenges due to high fuel prices, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien told a meeting on Wednesday.

EVN's loss in 2022 amounted to VND28,876 billion ($1.22 billion), according to a report it sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in January.

The corporation believes that in 2023, if the electricity price remains the same, it would lose an additional VND64,941 billion ($2.75 billion).

Thus, EVN's accumulated loss in 2022-2023 is expected to exceed VND93,000 billion ($3.94 billion).

The group expressed concern that by the end of May 2023, parent company EVN would no longer have money in its account and by June, would be short of payment.

At the meeting, Minister Dien requested functional units under the ministry to implement solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles in investment and construction of power projects and the electricity market, along with the electricity selling mechanism.

This included settling recommendations related to gas supply for thermal power plant projects in the O Mon (Can Tho city) and Dung Quat (Quang Ngai province) power centers and ensuring sufficient coal supply for other thermal power plants.

The minister also directed EVN to actively participate in proposing amendments and supplements to current regulations on the mechanism for adjusting electricity retail prices and electricity retail tariff structure.

He said the electricity price should fully reflect market factors, creating an equal environment between the parties in electricity activities.

In December, EVN was forecast to incur a loss of VND31 trillion ($1.31 billion) in 2022 due to surging input costs and stagnant selling prices regulated by the government. The estimation was announced by the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises at its recent year-end conference.

EVN said that from the beginning of 2022, due to fluctuations in fuel prices around the world, the cost of electricity production and purchasing had surged.