Vietnam PM demands sufficient power supply

Electricity supply sources in Vietnam have to leave no stone unturned to ensure adequate supply during the heat wave across the country, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

The PM, at a meeting between permanent cabinet members, ministries, and agencies in Hanoi late Thursday, stressed that all resources must be used to assure sufficient electricity for production, businesses, and daily use.

The current intense heat wave has caused a spike in electricity demand, reservoirs across the country have become dry due to El Nino-triggered drought, and coal imports from Indonesia serving coal-fired power plants have not arrived in Vietnam.

The PM asked state-run mining group Vinacomin and North-East Corporation to provide sufficient coal to those thermal power plants using domestic coal.

Those using imported coal need to borrow or repurchase coal from others. Meanwhile, state-owned Petrovietnam must ensure the supply of fuel for oil- and gas-fired power plants, the PM said.

State-run utility Vietnam Electricity, or EVN, was required to maximize supply from hydropower plants and conduct rapid negotiations for temporary buying prices with wind and solar power projects that missed the government's preferential feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) scheme.

The PM assigned Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An to directly instruct EVN in operating the national electricity system to assure adequate supply and prevent shortages.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to study a pricing mechanism similar to that applied to build-transfer (BT) transport projects for wind and solar power initiatives that missed out on preferential feed-in-tariffs. They are called transitional projects.

Ha required the ministry to soon revise regulations and provide specific instructions on price calculation methods for these renewable energy projects.

Currently, 84 renewable energy projects with a total capacity of more than 4,600 megawatts have missed deadlines for commercial operation. Of these, 34 transitional projects (28 wind and six solar power) with a total capacity of nearly 2,100 MW have been completed and put into trial run.