EVN informs about the reason for having to import electricity

Operational inspection at the 500kV West Hanoi substation. Illustration photo: Huy HungVNA

Why import electricity?

Regarding the issue of importing electricity from neighboring countries, EVN said that at a discussion with a number of press agencies on the situation of electricity supply and some related issues on May 24, 2023, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An said as follows: "The imported electricity output is relatively small; of which about 7 million kWh/day is imported from Laos, 4 million kWh/day from China. The national electricity output is over 850 million kWh/day, the North alone is also 450 million kWh/day while the total imported electricity output is more than 10 million kWh/day, so the proportion of imported electricity is very low, less than 1.3% nationwide. These sources are not necessarily lacking. We have been buying electricity from China since 2005. We also import electricity from Laos under an intergovernmental agreement. We have also sold electricity to Cambodia for a long time based on agreements between neighboring countries".

Regarding the reason for importing electricity, according to EVN, renewable energy has developed strongly in recent times but mainly in the Central and Southern regions, while difficulties in power supply at certain times occur in the North. At the same time, due to technical limitations to ensure safe operation of the 500 kV North-South transmission lines, additional power sources in the Central and Southern regions cannot support the North.

Regarding the negotiation and signing of power purchase contracts for transitional wind and solar power projects, implementing the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN has focused on negotiating, agreeing on temporary prices, reporting to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for approval to quickly put completed projects into operation in accordance with legal regulations in the shortest time.

EVN has established many Negotiation Teams to be ready to discuss and guide the resolution of problems, and to thoroughly handle issues under EVN's responsibility such as extending connection agreements and testing and acceptance. In addition, EVN has organized many meetings with all investors with representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to resolve problems during the negotiation process.

As of May 31, 2023, there are 50 projects with a total capacity of more than 2,751 MW, the investor proposed a temporary electricity price equal to 50% of the ceiling price of the electricity generation price frame for each type issued under Decision No. 21/QD-BCT dated January 19, 2023 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; in which EVN submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for 40 projects with a total capacity of more than 2,368 MW. Of which, 7 projects/parts of projects with a total capacity of 430.22 MW have completed the procedures for recognition of commercial operation and electricity generation to the grid.

The remaining projects/project parts are completing the pilot program, completing related legal procedures (decision to adjust investment policy on project implementation progress, land allocation decision, construction permit, electricity operation license, results of acceptance inspection by competent state management agencies...) to be eligible to put into operation as soon as possible.

Vietnam Electricity Group has also clarified the information "EVN asked to increase electricity prices, but a series of subsidiaries deposited tens of thousands of dong in banks".

Accordingly, the amount of deposits mentioned by the press needs to be considered with the short-term debt balance (60,045 billion VND) at the same time of the Power Corporations; not to mention the long-term debt balance, just considering the above short-term debt balance, it is clear that the debt at the units is very large, the need to repay principal and interest in the year is very high, so the units are required to maintain a sufficient balance to pay the debt due to ensure creditworthiness for loans in the coming time.

In addition, the above deposit balance will be used to pay debts to suppliers, pay for electricity purchases for rooftop solar power plants and small hydropower plants at the beginning of next month according to signed contracts to invest in distribution - retail systems to meet the demand for load growth and costs for production and business activities.

Power Corporations must proactively balance appropriate cash flows to ensure timely payment of principal and interest to credit institutions, payments to suppliers and power plants according to regulations, and at the same time be responsible for improving the efficiency of capital use of their units.

Gradually modernize

Vietnam Electricity Group said that EVN's electricity distribution and business activities include the following main tasks: Investing in construction, operation and management of distribution grid infrastructure (power lines and transformer stations) up to 110kV voltage level (including bringing electricity to rural, remote, mountainous and island areas); business activities, distribution and trading of electricity according to electricity operation licenses; customer services (providing electricity services and customer care); other tasks (receiving power grids handed over by other organizations, saving electricity, etc.).

Implementing the policy of modernization in customer service business, since 2015 EVN has invested, installed and put into operation electronic meters and remote data collection systems, gradually replacing mechanical meters (which must be measured and recorded manually). To date, 80.26% of the electricity metering and recording systems have been electronically digitized.

There are still about 6 million mechanical meters nationwide that need manual measurement and recording. According to the roadmap, by 2025, all of these mechanical meters will be replaced by remote electronic meters by EVN.

Regarding the staff who measure and record meter readings throughout the Group, EVN said that because the measurement and recording and re-checking of meter readings is usually done once a month. To optimize and improve labor productivity, the staff who measure and re-check meter readings, in addition to measuring and recording, must also take on other tasks such as: checking, periodically replacing meters, urging debt collection, measuring capacity, taking thermal images, troubleshooting, customer care... Currently, the whole Group has 2,242 employees performing these tasks, corresponding to 2.32% of the total number of employees in the whole Group.

In addition, in recent times, EVN has promoted the application of digital transformation and new technologies in all production and business activities, so EVN's workforce has decreased every year, an average of about 1,100 people per year.

According to DUC DUNG (Vietnam News Agency)

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