Tourism in trouble due to power shortage

Had to leave the trip because of power outage

Having just taken his family to Ha Long (Quang Ninh) for a trip on June 4, Mr. Nguyen Tien Toan, co-founder of Canh Dieu Travel Company, had an "unforgettable" experience when starting a vibrant summer for the children at home right in the season of... power cuts.

Bai Chay tourist area (Ha Long) is deserted due to power shortage (photo taken on June 12)

Working directly in the tourism industry, from late May to early June, Mr. Toan witnessed many groups of tourists canceling their tours and checking out of hotels due to sudden power outages while traveling. Therefore, to prepare for his family's trip, he closely followed the local power outage schedule and chose a 5-star hotel right in the city center to minimize risks.

"But we couldn't escape. My family had just checked in less than an hour when the power went out. The hotel is so big that the generator system was only enough to power the elevator and lighting equipment. It was 38-39 degrees Celsius hot and sunny, but without air conditioning, it was unbearable, and the house was full of old people and children. The hotel manager said they were also passive because the electricity company did not notify them. That day there was no scheduled power outage, but the power suddenly went out so they did not have time to hire a generator to help. They said they had worked with the electricity company again, and that the power would be back on in the afternoon, but my family waited until evening and still had no air conditioning. Annoyed, I asked to cancel the room and the trip," said Mr. Toan.

Add 20 million kWh to the Northern grid

As of yesterday, June 12, many thermal power plants that had been malfunctioning for the past few days have resumed operation. Specifically, unit 4 of Hai Phong Thermal Power Plant, Mong Duong 1 Thermal Power Plant, Son Dong Thermal Power Plant... Notably, Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant with a capacity of 13 million kWh per day has been restarted, Nghi Son 1 Thermal Power Plant is expected to be reconnected to the grid at 6:00 p.m. today, June 13, with a capacity of 7 million kWh per day.

Thus, from today, June 13, only the two units of Nghi Son 1 and Thai Binh 2 thermal power plants will be put into operation, the Northern power grid will have an additional 20 million kWh per day. Recently, although the coal fuel source for thermal power production is sufficient, due to the need to mobilize large and continuous capacity, some units have encountered problems. Of which, the long-term problem is about 2,100 MW, the short-term problem is about 550 MW.

General information update on the operation of the national power system up to June 11 shows that the daily consumption output is 746.8 million kWh. Of which, the North is estimated at about 388.6 million kWh, the Central region is about 72 million kWh and the South is about 285.8 million kWh.

Nguyen Nga

Also in a similar situation, the family of Ms. Tran Thi My Linh (living in Son Tay Town, Hanoi) took her son to Ninh Binh for his first birthday, but before they could stay a full day, they had to "turn around". Regarding the reason, Ms. Linh said: "It was so hot and every place we stopped had a power outage. We had just arrived at the restaurant, had not even sat down for 20 minutes, and the dishes had not yet been served when we had to move to the garden area because the power was out and there was no air conditioning. In the middle of the blazing noon sun, sitting outside on the concrete floor of the garden, you know. The boy was sweating profusely and crying loudly. When we arrived at the hotel at 3 p.m., the staff apologized repeatedly, saying that we would have to wait until evening to turn on the air conditioning, and that we could only use the fan when we checked in. Well, it was more comfortable to go home."

Not only hotels, many passengers traveling by plane at Cat Bi airport (Hai Phong city) were also surprised when many areas were hot and stuffy. In the waiting area, the air conditioner was still running normally, but in some restaurants serving food, the air conditioner was not turned on, nor were there fans. An employee of a restaurant at Cat Bi airport said that due to energy saving, the airport also reduced the use of electrical equipment.

According to the People's Committee of Van Don District (Quang Ninh), the number of visitors to Minh Chau - Quan Lan tourist area has decreased by about 35%, only about 12,700 tourists/week compared to the time before the power cut. This number is forecast to continue to decrease in the following weeks if the power cut continues. The unstable and frequent power supply not only reduces revenue from service activities but also negatively affects the local tourism image, reducing the number of visitors during the peak summer season.

Bai Chay tourist area (Ha Long) is deserted due to power shortage (photo taken on June 12)

Businesses "distorted" because of increased costs

Mr. Nguyen Tien Toan commented that summer is the peak season for domestic tourists, the majority of visitors are families taking their children on summer vacations. However, this year the heat of the summer tourist season seems to cool down due to economic difficulties. People will prioritize nearby destinations that can be traveled by car or private vehicle to save costs when airfares are increasingly expensive. Therefore, tourists are very proactive in changing their schedules.

If this place loses power, they are willing to cancel their reservation, change direction or go abroad.

"My friends who work in hotels in Da Nang are complaining about being unemployed. Now, going from Hanoi to Thailand is cheaper than going to Da Nang or Phu Quoc. Not to mention the food and hotel services there are also diverse in price ranges, cheaper than here, so why not fly there to play. Add to that the unstable electricity situation like this, if businesses do not invest in more generators, there will be no customers, and if they invest, the cost burden will increase, and then all will be put into service fees. The tourism industry, which is already difficult, will be greatly affected," Mr. Toan expressed.

Airports implement energy saving

Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) has just issued a Directive on strengthening the implementation of electricity saving solutions at agencies, units and airports.

Accordingly, ACV requires agencies, units and branch airports to urgently and immediately implement the proactive calculation and reduction of electrical loads or choose the time to exploit and use generators during peak hours instead of grid power, minimizing electricity costs. At the same time, there must be a plan to ensure absolute safety for flight operations when converting grid power and backup power. The ports are required to prioritize airport equipment loads using grid power.

The cost burden that Mr. Toan mentioned above, was specifically informed by Mr. Thanh Luan (owner of a restaurant chain in Ninh Binh) with the figure of 160 million VND/generator.

According to Mr. Luan, since the beginning of June, the number of tourists coming to Ninh Binh has been increasing. Customers usually arrive at noon and often have to endure sudden power outages. The power outage schedule is sometimes announced in advance, sometimes not accurately, so the restaurant does not have time to buy a generator. Customers complain that it is hot and want to leave quickly, so they order fewer dishes, and the restaurant's revenue drops by about 25%.

Mr. Luan plans to invest in a larger generator, but the price is quite "expensive", up to 160 million VND/unit, not including operating and maintenance costs. "Since the pandemic, there have been more customers, but business is still slow, not yet rebounding, so investing in anything else is difficult now, it's a problem. Luckily, this time, the majority of customers are Vietnamese, they also understand the general situation, so they sympathize somewhat. If there were continuous power outages during the peak season for Western customers, they would "avoid coming back forever", Mr. Luan said.

Tourists were eating at a restaurant in Bai Chay tourist area (Quang Ninh) when the power went out (photo taken on June 3).

Tourism is still waiting for a long time but still not out of trouble

According to the People's Committee of Van Don District, during peak tourist season, island communes in the area often welcome 19,000 - 19,500 tourists/week. Therefore, the district has sent a document requesting the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Industry and Trade, and Quang Ninh Electricity Company to pay attention and prioritize full-time electricity supply for the Minh Chau - Quan Lan provincial tourist area.

Immediately after that, the Standing Committee of Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee had to agree to establish the Provincial Power Supply Steering Committee, directing priority power supply to key sectors, including tourism. Thanks to that, the province's key tourist destinations were recorded to be more bustling over the past two weekends, with the center of Ha Long City welcoming about 20% more visitors than the same period last week.

Appreciating the timely move of Quang Ninh province, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel Corporation Nguyen Quoc Ky said that the viewpoint of prioritizing, removing obstacles, considering tourism as a production industry instead of a consumer industry to have appropriate policies like Quang Ninh needs to be replicated on a scale of many localities and at a national level.

In recent times, the application of electricity prices for tourism accommodation establishments has been proposed by the tourism industry many times to competent authorities to create more favorable conditions for tourism activities. During the period when the tourism industry was affected by the Covid-19 epidemic,

Close public-private partnership to solve power supply problem

The Energy and Electricity Working Group of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) has recently proposed to the Government and relevant agencies solutions to effectively address the issue of electricity supply. According to this unit, there is currently a gap of about 4.35 GW of electricity supply between supply capacity and demand, especially in the Northern region. This year, the increasingly severe weather conditions have made electricity supply during the dry season more difficult. The power shortage has deeply affected private enterprises, especially industrial customers, causing significant disruptions in production activities.

In the current context, the Working Group believes that it is necessary to accelerate the approval process for projects included in the revised Power Plan VII so that the projects can be quickly implemented. At the same time, it is recommended that competent authorities support companies and industries in deploying self-consumption renewable energy solutions, not connected to the grid, such as energy storage battery systems. In addition, dialogue and close cooperation between the public and private sectors are necessary to effectively solve the problem of electricity supply. In particular, the early promulgation of policies for direct electricity trading mechanisms and the development of off-grid solar power systems are extremely important.

The Government has agreed to issue a policy to reduce electricity prices and electricity bills (including reducing the retail electricity price applied to business to the retail electricity price applied to manufacturing industries) implemented in 4 phases for tourist accommodation establishments.

However, this policy will be temporarily suspended after the pandemic ends. In Resolution 82 recently issued, the Government also assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to preside over and coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to study and supplement the customer group "tourist accommodation establishments" to apply retail electricity prices equal to retail electricity prices for manufacturing customers. Changing the electricity pricing mechanism and maintaining a stable power source are essential factors to support the recovery of the tourism industry.

"Perhaps in the current difficult period, the tourism industry cannot ask for any more preferential or specific policies. Since tourism reopened after Covid-19, difficulties have piled up, challenges have continuously come. The tourism industry now only hopes that visa policies, new electricity pricing methods, etc. will be issued soon to help ease the difficulties as much as possible," said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky.

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