Delegates question the Minister of Industry and Trade about the reason for EVN's big loss
The reason why Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) lost more than 47,000 billion VND in 2022 and 2023 is because the difference in buying and selling prices is up to 208-216 VND/kWh.
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| Deputy Huynh Thanh Phuong questioned the Minister of Industry and Trade about the many shortcomings in electricity price management that caused a loss of more than 47,000 billion VND for EVN. |
Questioning the Minister of Industry and Trade about electricity prices and EVN's loss-making operations, Deputy Huynh Thanh Phuong (Tay Ninh) said that voters and many experts believe that electricity price management still has many shortcomings.
“This is one of the important reasons for the loss of more than 47,000 billion VND for Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) in 2022 and 2023. I would like to ask the Minister to provide solutions to best resolve the issue of electricity price management in the coming time,” said Deputy Phuong.
In response to this question, Mr. Dien affirmed that “there is no such thing”. The Ministry of Industry and Trade only performs three basic functions in State management: Planning, planning; policy mechanisms, inspection and examination.
“We see that in advising on the development of mechanisms and policies, especially policies on electricity prices, we have complied with the provisions of current laws, especially the Electricity Law and the Price Law. Accordingly, electricity is one of the commodities that must ensure price stability according to the State's direction,” said Mr. Dien.
Currently, EVN is the only unit with the function of buying and selling electricity and supplying electricity. To ensure national energy security, it must buy according to the market price mechanism, but the output price must be stable, and electricity prices are related to and greatly affect other production sectors.
Therefore, there is a difference between input and output. According to the Minister: "The difference between EVN's buying and selling prices is about 208-216 VND/kwh".
Referring to the solution to continue to amend the operating mechanism so that EVN does not suffer losses in the future, the Minister said: "The Industry and Trade sector is consulting with the Government to amend and supplement the Electricity Law (amended), which will be submitted to the National Assembly session this October."
The goal of the amendment is to eliminate cross-subsidy among electricity customers; to correctly, fully and completely calculate the cost of electricity, including the price of electricity production and the price of power system operation and dispatch, to ensure objectivity.
In addition, the Government has officially decided to put the A0 Dispatch Center under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This will ensure transparency and fairness in the dispatching of the power system, and fairness between power generators and power users.
On the other hand, the Government has recently issued a decree on direct electricity trading for large electricity users; and is about to issue a decree on encouraging rooftop solar power, which will gradually make the electricity market more perfect.
Minister Dien said: “Currently, the competitive electricity generation market and the competitive wholesale electricity market have been implemented relatively well. The competitive retail electricity market will continue to be studied and perfected in the Draft Electricity Law and current regulations will be amended.”
Regarding rooftop solar power, Deputy Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran (Dong Nai) questioned: "In fact, the demand for solar power from households in the Southern region is very large, but currently the State no longer has a policy of purchasing surplus electricity from households." While the electricity business is managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and EVN is the only unit trading electricity between Vietnam Electricity and consumers.
To avoid wasting investment costs for solar power for households and at the same time reduce consumption of national electricity sources, delegate Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran requested the Minister of Industry and Trade to propose solutions to create conditions for households to resell this surplus electricity.
Clarifying this content, the Minister said: “In purchasing surplus electricity from rooftop solar power projects, if the power system wants to be safe and stable, the structure of solar and wind power sources should only account for 20-25%, to match technical and economic capacity. Because, without a stable base power source of 75-80%, the power system will be at risk.
According to Power Plan VIII, the total power source by 2030 is 150,589 MW, of which renewable power accounts for about 27%, which is a high level.
Recently, many localities want to develop solar power more strongly, especially rooftop solar power, so the Government has directed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to draft a Decree to encourage the development of self-produced and self-consumed rooftop solar power. Accordingly, the State will purchase up to 20% of the capacity of rooftop solar power projects to encourage private investment and reduce State investment.
However, this is also a challenge, and can even pose a risk to the safety of the power system. The reason is that the base power source does not change, increasing the proportion of renewable energy will cause a loss of safety risks to the power system and the basic power grid.
Therefore, Minister Dien said: "The construction policy must ensure the proposals of localities and people, but must also respect technical factors, not just meet simple needs. Even the regulation in the Decree stipulates that the purchase of excess electricity output must be at most 20% of the installed capacity. The Ministry also proposes mechanisms and binding conditions to avoid taking advantage of policies or causing the power system to collapse."
"The power system does not allow for mistakes. If you make a mistake once, you will pay the price. Therefore, we accept the delegates' recommendations but must also comply with technical and legal factors," the Minister emphasized.
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