The seminar "Unlocking capital flows in the Power Sector" was organized by Investment Newspaper - an agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, to specifically assess the current state of investment in the Power sector, forecast challenges in the balance of power supply - demand, inadequacies in investment activities, thereby promoting capital disbursement.
Existing difficulties
According to Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong - Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, the calculation of the national balance of power supply and demand shows that the power supply ensuring in the coming time will face many difficulties, especially in the North (accounting for nearly 50% of the total power demand of the country) continues to be forecasted to grow higher than the national average. However, new power sources expected to be completed annually in the period 2022-2025 are always lower than the load growth. Meanwhile, the power supply support from the Central and the South to the North is limited by the 500kV transmission capacity.
Not only that, according to the calculation of Power Planning Project VIII, in the 2021-2030 period, to meet development needs, the Power sector needs to invest about USD 13 billion/year. Mobilizing and effectively using this capital is still challenging.
The seminar aimed to specifically assess the current state of investment in the Power sector, forecast challenges in the balance of power supply - demand, inadequacies in investment activities, thereby promoting capital disbursement.
According to Assoc.Prof.Dr. Bui Xuan Hoi - energy economist, Rector of Northern Electricity College, the benefit aspect must come first to attract investment, especially for private enterprises. It’s impossible to attract investment in the Power sector without an attractive electricity price mechanism for investors, thereby making it difficult to ensure the security of the power supply. "The most important thing is to have a price mechanism, the latest adjustment is in 2019 while input prices are always fluctuating. Coal and gas prices have skyrocketed, causing input costs to increase dramatically.
EVN strives at the highest level
Mr. Nguyen Tai Anh - Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said that to supply power for economic recovery and development, EVN is making efforts at the highest level. In which, there is the ensuring the power projects progress invested and put into operation by EVN according to the plan.
In the period 2021-2025, EVN will commence 10 power source projects with a total capacity of 8,240MW, of which 4 power projects with a total capacity of 3,090MW will be completed and put into operation. For power grid projects, 338 500-220kV projects will be completed and put into operation, with a total length of about 17,000km and a total capacity of substations of about 86,000MVA. The total investment capital demand of the whole Vietnam Electricity in the 2021-2025 period is about VND 600,000 billion, an increase of 11% compared to the implementation in the 2016-2020 period.
However, the implementation of power projects still faces many difficulties such as the lack of synchronous legal regulations on construction investment; the order and procedures in investment preparation must go through many steps leading to a lengthy implementation time; difficulties in compensation for site clearance and purposes conversion of forest land. In addition, the capital arrangement and mobilization also faced many challenges.
According to EVN's leaders, these shortcomings need to be removed to speed up the progress of power projects. Specifically, ministries, sectors and localities need to create favorable conditions to support EVN and its member units to solve problems related to forest land and compensation for site clearance; strengthen the arrangement of capital for power projects; encourage the socialization of investment in the power grid connecting power sources to share resources and ensure the synchronization and efficiency of projects investment...