We need fairness!

(Baonghean) - The national economy has only just begun to recover. Businesses, which had just started to regain strength after a severe illness caused by the prolonged economic recession, are now reeling again as the electricity sector has increased prices by another 7.5%, a move approved by the Government!

Let whoever is shocked or dizzy be shocked. EVN leaders even "speak up," saying, "If electricity prices were calculated correctly and fully, they would have to increase by 12.8%." If that's the case, then the new electricity price, starting on March 16th, would only increase by 7.5%, which is nothing short of a "favor" from the electricity sector to society. So, should consumers happily accept this "blessing"? But before making a final decision, we need to consider whether the electricity sector is "caring" for consumers and therefore hasn't bothered to calculate the correct and full price, accepting the loss instead. If that's the case, then the public's reaction to the electricity price increase seems to be a lack of understanding, empathy, and fairness. Speaking of fairness, perhaps the electricity sector should set an example first.

For example, regarding this electricity price increase, before making the decision, EVN should have been straightforward and transparent, clearly and meticulously disclosing to the public the factors and costs that make up the electricity price so that everyone could understand. Those who didn't understand or didn't believe it could have simply hired an independent auditing agency to assess and clarify whether it was accurate. Instead, EVN unilaterally announced a planned electricity price increase of 7.5%, 8.5%, and 9.5%, "forgetting," or perhaps ignoring, the need to explain to its "customers" why these increases were necessary. This is fictitious, making claims without evidence to prove that the price increase is inevitable, necessary, correct, and reasonable.

Is simply making such pronouncements fair? EVN claims that if all factors were taken into account, the price would increase by more than 12%. So why not just state that increase directly instead of presenting three different price levels as mentioned above? Is it perhaps a lack of confidence, a way to gauge the situation and make it easier to justify their position? They're just offering whatever price they can, without any concrete evidence to support their argument. In short, EVN is resorting to the same old tactic of being vague about the factors that make up electricity prices, leaving consumers facing a confusing array of prices within their own industry. And then, on a good day for them, or a bad day for consumers, they'll choose whichever price they prefer.

Returning to the issue of electricity price transparency: For many years, consumers nationwide have been demanding that the electricity sector publicly disclose the factors that make up the price of electricity, but for some reason, they keep procrastinating and refusing to implement it. And the accounting isn't difficult at all. What are the inputs, how much do they cost, and what are the construction costs, labor costs, and operating expenses? Just add them all up, and you'll get the result! Even farmers can calculate the cost of their chickens, eggs, rice, and corn. Surely, the electricity sector, comprised of well-educated and trained professionals, can perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to arrive at the cost of one kilowatt of electricity.

That's just talk, though; in reality, they're perfectly capable of doing it. But, frankly, they don't want to. Because doing so would expose unpleasant issues. According to statistics from the Chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association, EVN's labor productivity is significantly lower than that of other countries in the region and the world. If we consider the annual electricity output of 120 billion kWh generated by a workforce of 110,000 people, one person produces less than 1.1 million kWh per year. EVN's labor productivity is currently only 1/10 of Singapore, 3/4 of Malaysia, and less than half of Thailand. The low labor productivity in the electricity sector is due to a surplus of labor.

For example, EVN currently has over 6,700 employees whose sole job is to manually record meter readings, resulting in low work efficiency. Furthermore, EVN's electricity losses remain high, failing to meet the government's targets. In 2014, EVN's electricity losses were 8.46%, while the target was 8%. And within this electricity loss issue, there are also some shocking and outrageous secrets. The losses are not only due to unavoidable operational losses but also to human intervention. Specifically, electricity sector employees colluding with large electricity consumers to convert electricity into money for personal gain. This is being rumored in many places, just not yet exposed. As for why EVN has a surplus of labor but doesn't reduce it, I think everyone understands, so there's no need to state it directly here. Therefore, the best approach is to simply "blur the lines" and factor it all into the cost, forcing consumers to bear the burden?

It's time for fairness and transparency in all matters. This will allow us to establish electricity prices that reflect production costs and provide consumers with reasonable and stable electricity prices. More importantly, it will prevent the electricity sector from resorting to condescending statements to cover up ambiguity and avoid making consumers feel indebted while still paying high prices. No one likes or needs favors; what the electricity sector needs is fairness!

Buddha Mountain