Summary Conference on the target program for power supply in rural, mountainous and island for the period 2016 - 2020 organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on 14 January in Hanoi.
At the conference, many individuals and collectives of EVN awarded the Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Industry and Trade for their outstanding achievements made in the implementation of the power supply program for rural and mountainous areas in the period of 2016-2020.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An said that rural electrification has been one of the most important and outstanding achievements of Vietnam since the reunification of the country, with the percentage of households supplied with power, increasing from 2.5% in 1975 up to 96% in 2009 and 99.53% in 2019.
In rural areas alone, the percentage of rural households using electricity as of 31 December 2020 reached 99.26%; only about 0.74% of rural households have not had access to electricity.
Decision No. 1740/QD-TTg has approved the need for investment capital of about VND 30,116 billion. The program has achieved a number of encouraging goals such as power supply to 17/17 communes as planned; The number of households supplied with power was 204,737 households. However, due to the limitations of financial resources (mobilizing capital from the central budget at VND 4,743 billion, together with the counterfund capital of investors, only about 18.5% of the total capital demand), so not realizing the initial target set by 2020, most rural households have been supplied with power.
Efforts by EVN
Mr. Vo Quang Lam - EVN's Deputy General Director speaking at the conference
At the conference, EVN's Deputy General Director Vo Quang Lam presented his speech on receiving and developing power grids and supplying power to island districts and island communes. Specifically, implementing the Target Program on Power Supply for rural mountainous areas and islands in the period 2016 - 2020 (Decision No. 1740/QD-TTg), by the end of 2020, EVN has implemented 07 projects, supplying power for more than 17,900 households.
EVN has focused on receiving and gradually supplying power to island districts and island communes. Generally by the end of 2020, EVN has supplied and managed power sales to 11/12 island districts, 82/85 island communes with a total investment of more than VND 7,900 billion. For remote islands, EVN has supplied power by generating systems of diesel, solar, and wind power, etc. Every year, EVN compensates a loss of about VND 200 billion in power generation costs to sell electricity on the islands at a fixed selling price nationwide.
In Need of more than VND 25.8 trillion
Mr. Bui Quoc Hung - Deputy Director of Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority, Ministry of Industry and Trade said that, as planned, by 2025, most rural households will be supplied with power, meeting the level 4 criterion on electricity (new rural development). Power supply from the national grid or renewable energy sources have been performed to about 871,263 households (of which, about 153,911 households not supplied with power, 717,352 households supplied with power, but it is not stable). The capital needed to accomplish this target in the period of 2021 - 2025 is VND 25,884 billion. Accordingly, the capital mobilization mechanism is allocated by the State budget and arranged by units under EVN at most 85% and at least 15% of total investment, respectively; mobilized from socialized capital through policies and incentives to invest from in in-place renewable energy sources, simultaneously supplying power to people and selling excess power to the national grid.