The Comedy of Electricity: Cooking Lunch at 2am

(Baonghean.vn) - Using electricity is a minimum need of life, and as society develops, this need increases rapidly. However, in Nghe An, there are still many areas, especially mountainous areas, that do not have electricity or have electricity but the service quality is low, the grid infrastructure system does not meet objective requirements, especially the electricity price is higher than the regulations. This reality has been negatively affecting people's lives, affecting the assurance of security and order in special areas.

The whole neighborhood got up to cook lunch at midnight.

Although there is electricity, for the past 20 years, 120 households in Hamlet 4, belonging to the Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise (Thanh Duc Commune) have had to endure the situation of "having more light than an oil lamp". The electricity is too weak, power outages happen frequently. In many families, electrical appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and rice cookers are bought and then... put away.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mao, a resident of Hamlet 4, complained: "The refrigerator is broken, the Lioa is broken, all broken, the fan is not working. I have everything just for decoration." Ms. Mao also said that although there is grid electricity, she still has to use rechargeable fans because the electricity is unstable. With appliances that consume a lot of electricity like refrigerators, "don't even dream of them being effective."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mao "showed off" that she had just bought a rechargeable fan because the power grid was not reliable.

Also in hamlet 4, Mr. Nguyen Van The had to spend 2 million VND to run a wire from Ho Chi Minh road but it still didn’t work. Every time he plugged in the refrigerator, he said: “it vibrated like a rice mill, and he couldn’t even watch TV.”

Because of the unstable electricity, most households in Hamlet 4 have protected themselves by buying rechargeable batteries. Many families have also bought voltage stabilizers but the situation has not improved.

Most of the wiring in Hamlet 4 is bare wire.

Many people in hamlet 4 have to spend money to buy power stabilizers and backup batteries.

Phan Van Thanh's family is considered the most "invested" in the neighborhood. "We can't use electricity, so we have to buy two batteries, two flashlights, and a mini generator. The electricity is too weak, so people here have to wake up around 1-2 am to cook rice for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner we have to light a wood stove."

"Eating spoiled meat is expensive"

That is the humorous way many people talk about the electricity source in Hamlet 4, Thanh Duc Commune (Thanh Chuong). At the end of June 2016, many households in Hamlet 4 were shocked when they had to pay an electricity price of up to 5,500 VND/1 kw of electricity. The majority of the 120 households in Hamlet 4 were formerly staff and workers of the Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise.

Currently, households are still using electricity from the 35KV substation under the management of this enterprise. However, in the same hamlet, the price applied to households is different. While some households have to pay from 5,000 - 5,500 VND/1kw, others have to pay 3,500 - 4,000 VND/1kw (all higher than the regulated price).

Exposed power lines run under the trees.

The family of Mrs. Nguyen Thi My (born in 1952) is one of 13 households connected to the same power line in Hamlet 4. She said that for the past 2 years, her family has had to pay very high electricity prices that have been constantly increasing, from 3,500 VND to 4,000, 4,800, 5,000 VND for 1kw of electricity. In June 2016, the electricity price increased again to 5,500 VND/kw. "I don't know how much it will go up" - Mrs. My sighed.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mao, a retired worker at Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise. In 1993, her family borrowed money from the bank, and together with the people in Hamlet 4, contributed money to buy wires and poles to extend electricity from the enterprise's 3-way intersection to their home. Last June, Ms. Mao's family used up 41 kw of electricity and had to pay more than 230,000 VND. "Luckily, I still have a pension, otherwise, how can other people pay?" - Ms. Mao said.

Because of having to pay high electricity prices for a long time, some households in Hamlet 4 contributed money to build their own power lines nearly 2 km from Ho Chi Minh Road. However, these households also had to pay 3,500 VND/1kw of electricity.

Will electricity prices continue to rise?

Talking to Mr. Phan Van Cuong - the officer in charge of electricity at Hanh Lam Tea Processing Service Enterprise (Thanh Duc commune), he said that the current state of the enterprise's electricity system is very complicated. The enterprise has 3 total meters measuring monthly electricity consumption. Of which, 1 meter is reserved for production activities, the remaining 2 meters measure the electricity usage of 800 households in the area. Although he does not admit that the enterprise is an electricity business unit, Mr. Cuong said that for a long time, the unit has "bought" electricity from Thanh Chuong Electricity and then "sold" it to residential groups.

Specifically, after the 2 main meters at the source, there are "levels" of main meters behind. "Each residential group has 1 main meter and each group elects a person in charge of reading the electricity number and calculating the monthly bill" - Mr. Phan Van Cuong said.

For a long time, Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise has sold electricity to residential groups in the form of a fixed consumption level from the first index 0 - 50kw (level 1). For example, a group of 10 electricity users will be fixed at a consumption level of 500kw. That means 10 x 50 = 500kw. And this 500kw will be applied a price of 2,141 VND/kw. If the electricity consumption index exceeds level 1, level 2 will be applied with a price of 2,213 VND/kw. Meanwhile, the price that Thanh Chuong Electricity sells to Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise is: level 1 (from 0 - 50kw) is 1,353 VND/kw; level 2 is 1,407 VND/kw (including VAT).

Mr. Phan Van Cuong, the electricity officer of Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise, explained the price applied to 800 electricity users in this area.

Why has the electricity price increased to such a "terrible" level as people have reported? According to Mr. Phan Van Cuong, it is because the grid infrastructure is too dilapidated, too degraded and made of bare wires, so the situation of electricity loss and leakage occurs frequently. Meanwhile, the number of households and electricity meters connected to the system is constantly increasing. In addition, the management of electricity at the total meters of each residential group is too poor, leading to the increase in electricity prices.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh - Deputy Director in charge of business of Thanh Chuong Electricity said that because the power grid infrastructure is old and the management is still limited, the loss of electricity leading to price increase is inevitable. However, Mr. Khanh also said that the electricity price of up to 5,500 VND/kw is an unimaginable number.

Regarding the solution, Mr. Le Thanh Mai - Director of Thanh Chuong Electricity said that the unit has also worked with Hanh Lam Tea Service Processing Enterprise on handing over the power system to the industry for management. However, the enterprise still has many ambiguities. The enterprise wants the electricity industry to pay for the system investment to recover capital, but according to Mr. Mai, up to this point, the transformer stations and power grid systems are old and depreciated, so that request is not satisfactory.

Mr. Le Thanh Mai - Director of Thanh Chuong Electricity Company said that the handover of power grid infrastructure at Hanh Lam Tea Processing and Service Enterprise is very confusing and difficult.

On the other hand, Mr. Phan Van Cuong, an official in charge of the electricity sector of Hanh Lam Tea Service Processing Enterprise, said that although he is not the highest representative of the unit, Thanh Chuong Electricity cannot just accept the handover of the unit's electricity system without losing a penny. This is difficult to accept. Thus, people will continue to use high-priced electricity, forced to watch the electricity price increase.

NPV