Vietnam shuns local electricity for Chinese imports

Vietnam’s electricity importations from China have risen continuously this year despite availability of local power.

Many local firms have complained that the State utility Electricity of Vietnam failed to buy up their output.

Among those complaining is Petrovietnam.

Phung Dinh Thuc, chairman of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), complained that EVN did not buy all output of its power plants.

According to EVN, its electricity production output and purchase was estimated at 10.380 billion kWh in July, of which production output accounted for 53%. Accumulatively in the January-July period, EVN’s electricity production output and purchase was estimated at around 69.000 billion kWh, rising by 11.2% over the same period last year. The electricity purchase was over 36.700 billion kWh, of which, power purchased from China was 1.57 billion kWh.

EVN also continues to increase power buying prices from China. Given the contract between Northern Power Corp., a member of EVN, and China’s Yunnan Power Grid Company, Vietnam’s electricity prices purchased from China for the whole year rose by 4.8% from 2011 to around VND1,300 per kWh.

Whereas, EVN buys electricity from small hydropower plants around the country at VND800 a kWh, coal-fired thermal power plants at between VND1,280 and VND1,300 and oil-fired power plants at VND5,500-6,000 per kWh.

According to a plan approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN this year will import 4.65 billion kWh from China for both the dry and rainy season.

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