Government focuses on prices, power shortage

The government will focus on implementing measures to control prices and
deal with power shortage in the remaining months of this year,
according to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The PM made the statement at the cabinet’s September meeting on
September 30, which discussed the nation’s socio-economic performance in
the past nine months and socio-economic tasks in the fourth quarter.

PM
Dung said he will soon issue Instructions on solutions to control
prices and stabilize the market from now to the year-end and early 2011.

Putting
the emphasis on the close connection between prices and monetary and
credit policies, the PM underscored the need to continue keeping stable
the prime interest rate.

He asked relevant ministries and
agencies to be proactive and flexible in executing monetary policies in
service of economic growth, not letting any price fever of essential
goods, especially medicine and milk, occur.

To tackle power
shortage, PM Dung asked the electricity sector, especially the
Electricity of Vietnam to take drastic measures to ensure sufficient
power in both short and long terms.

He requested the sector to
quickly speed up construction and commissioning of power plants along
with buying power from neighbouring countries and regulating power
resources appropriately.

At this meeting, the cabinet members
discussed reports on the country’s socio-economic performance over
September and the past nine months presented by ministries of planning
and investment, finance, and industry and trade, and forecast the future
national and global economic situation.

They agreed that the country’s national economy moved positively over the past nine months with GDP reaching 6.52 percent.

Exports
in nine months were estimated to rake in 51.5 billion USD, rising 23.2
percent over the same period in 2009 and nearly quadrupling the yearly
goal of over 6 percent set by the National Assembly.

Trade
deficit continued to be narrowed to stand at 8.58 billion USD, which
accounted for 16.7 percent of export value, or the lowest level in the
past years.

The cabinet members were concerned about an increase
of 1.31 percent in consumer price index (CPI) in September, which made
CPI grow 6.46 percent compared to December, 2009 and 8.64 percent year
on year.

Also at this meeting, the cabinet members listened and
gave opinions to reports on Vinashin’s business and production
performance, land use plans for the 2011-2015 period and to 2020, and a
summary of government members’ opinions on a draft decree to replace
Decree 62/2006/ND-CP on sanctions against administrative violations in
the maritime sector./.

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Power shortage blamed on delayed projects

Delays in construction of new power projects are the main reason for Vietnam’s power shortage, a senior official says.

“Hydropower plants account for 40 percent of the total power output, and low water levels play a part in the power shortage, but not the whole part,” Tran Dinh Long, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Electricity Power Association, told Thanh Nien.

“There was critical power shortage, even during the flooding season, and that’s because new power projects are behind schedule.”

The government in April had forecast that the lack of water in reservoirs could mean a loss of nearly 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity at hydropower plants this year.

Long said power losses at existing power plants could be offset if there were new plants.

“The power shortage has forced many thermal power plants to continuously run at full capacity, making them prone to technical problems that cause even more critical shortages,” he said.

Besides, no measure has been taken to control power consumption in the country, and production has been unable to catch up with rising demand.

Long said the government needs to be stricter in dealing with delayed power projects. Vietnam should also diversify its power sources by developing renewable energy and nuclear power projects, he said.

Vietnam plans to build four nuclear power reactors in the central province of Ninh Thuan, with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts. One of the four is set to be operational in 2020.

Long said if nuclear power can account for around 15 percent of the total output, the power shortage would be eased considerably.

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Power shortage blamed on delayed projects

Delays in construction of new power projects are the main reason for Vietnam’s power shortage, a senior official says.

“Hydropower plants account for 40 percent of the total power output, and low water levels play a part in the power shortage, but not the whole part,” Tran Dinh Long, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Electricity Power Association, told Thanh Nien.

“There was critical power shortage, even during the flooding season, and that’s because new power projects are behind schedule.”

The government in April had forecast that the lack of water in reservoirs could mean a loss of nearly 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity at hydropower plants this year.

Long said power losses at existing power plants could be offset if there were new plants.

“The power shortage has forced many thermal power plants to continuously run at full capacity, making them prone to technical problems that cause even more critical shortages,” he said.

Besides, no measure has been taken to control power consumption in the country, and production has been unable to catch up with rising demand.

Long said the government needs to be stricter in dealing with delayed power projects. Vietnam should also diversify its power sources by developing renewable energy and nuclear power projects, he said.

Vietnam plans to build four nuclear power reactors in the central province of Ninh Thuan, with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts. One of the four is set to be operational in 2020.

Long said if nuclear power can account for around 15 percent of the total output, the power shortage would be eased considerably.

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Steel producers cop power shortage blame

 

Workers at a steel plant in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. National power utility Electricity of Vietnam said many steel producers in the country use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

National power utility Electricity of Vietnam, regularly criticized for frequent power shortages and blackouts nationwide, this week pointed the finger at steel producers.

According to the utility, also known as EVN, part of the responsibility for power shortages in the country lay with steel producers, many of whom use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

There are 65 steel projects in the country and even though they only operate at 50 percent of their capacity on average, they already consume about 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year, EVN said in a report submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

In order to meet their demand, the power sector has spent an estimated VND35.5 trillion on power generation and transmission facilities. As a result, power supply to other industries as well as for domestic purposes has been affected.

EVN requested the government to tighten control over the production technology used at steel plants. In fact, large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Cheap prices

EVN said steel plants in Vietnam buy electricity at around 4.78 US cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 8.12 cents in Thailand and 14.1 cents in Singapore.

Many foreign steel producers invest in Vietnam only because they want to take advantage of the low power prices and then export their products, the power utility said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Energy Institute, power demand in Ho Chi Minh City only grew 7.7 percent over the 2008-2009 period even though the southern hub generates the highest GDP in the country.

Meanwhile, some other provinces reported much higher growth rates in power use because they house many power-consuming projects, the institute said. Power demand in the northern province of Quang Ninh, for instance, where there are large steel projects, increased by more than 15 percent during the period.

Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, admitted that most steel producers in the country use outdated and energy inefficient technology.

It requires 700 kilowatt-hours to produce one ton of steel billet and 120 kilowatt-hours to make one ton of products from the billets, Cuong said. That compares to per capita electricity consumption of only 867 kilowatt-hours per year in Vietnam.

An EVN official said the use of old production technology is a reason behind Vietnam’s power shortage. “It takes between three and four years to build a power plant, so if power-consuming projects continue to be licensed like now there will never be an end to power shortage.”

Power consumption in Vietnam is expected to surge by 17.63 percent this year.

The government said in a report last month that power cuts between April and July had negative impacts on production and daily life around the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked that construction of new power projects be speeded up and measures taken to ensure enough supply in coming years.

However, there has been no indication thus far that steel producers will be told to upgrade their technology and ensure efficient operations that will help the industry consume less power.

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Steel producers cop power shortage blame

 

Workers at a steel plant in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. National power utility Electricity of Vietnam said many steel producers in the country use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

National power utility Electricity of Vietnam, regularly criticized for frequent power shortages and blackouts nationwide, this week pointed the finger at steel producers.

According to the utility, also known as EVN, part of the responsibility for power shortages in the country lay with steel producers, many of whom use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

There are 65 steel projects in the country and even though they only operate at 50 percent of their capacity on average, they already consume about 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year, EVN said in a report submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

In order to meet their demand, the power sector has spent an estimated VND35.5 trillion on power generation and transmission facilities. As a result, power supply to other industries as well as for domestic purposes has been affected.

EVN requested the government to tighten control over the production technology used at steel plants. In fact, large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Cheap prices

EVN said steel plants in Vietnam buy electricity at around 4.78 US cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 8.12 cents in Thailand and 14.1 cents in Singapore.

Many foreign steel producers invest in Vietnam only because they want to take advantage of the low power prices and then export their products, the power utility said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Energy Institute, power demand in Ho Chi Minh City only grew 7.7 percent over the 2008-2009 period even though the southern hub generates the highest GDP in the country.

Meanwhile, some other provinces reported much higher growth rates in power use because they house many power-consuming projects, the institute said. Power demand in the northern province of Quang Ninh, for instance, where there are large steel projects, increased by more than 15 percent during the period.

Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, admitted that most steel producers in the country use outdated and energy inefficient technology.

It requires 700 kilowatt-hours to produce one ton of steel billet and 120 kilowatt-hours to make one ton of products from the billets, Cuong said. That compares to per capita electricity consumption of only 867 kilowatt-hours per year in Vietnam.

An EVN official said the use of old production technology is a reason behind Vietnam’s power shortage. “It takes between three and four years to build a power plant, so if power-consuming projects continue to be licensed like now there will never be an end to power shortage.”

Power consumption in Vietnam is expected to surge by 17.63 percent this year.

The government said in a report last month that power cuts between April and July had negative impacts on production and daily life around the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked that construction of new power projects be speeded up and measures taken to ensure enough supply in coming years.

However, there has been no indication thus far that steel producers will be told to upgrade their technology and ensure efficient operations that will help the industry consume less power.

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