"The electricity industry is eliminating monopoly ideology and implementing better electricity supply"

(Baonghean.vn) -Today, July 13, the 3rd working day, the 5th session, the 16th term Nghe An Provincial People's Council continued the question and answer session. After the question and answer session of the Department of Health, the question and answer session of the Department of Industry and Trade. Comrades: Tran Hong Chau - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Dinh Thi Le Thanh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Tran Van Mao - Standing Member of the Provincial People's Council chaired the working session.

Mr. Phan Thanh Tinh - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade reported on the progress of the implementation of the power development program, especially hydropower, according to the targets of the 16th Nghe An Provincial Party Congress; the progress of handing over the rural power grid and refunding investment money to people after handover in the province is still slow; the price and quality of electricity supplied to consumers in rural areas still have many shortcomings...; management responsibilities and solutions to overcome the above problems.

There were 11 opinions from delegates on this issue.

Delegate Lo Xuan Vinh (Que Phong unit) reflected the proposal of Que Phong district voters: in the district there are 8 hydropower projects, only 2 have been implemented, and the other projects have reclaimed land but have not compensated the people. Will these projects continue to be implemented or not? If land is reclaimed, when will compensation be paid to the people?

Delegates Lo Xuan Vinh and Nguyen Thi Quynh Nga questioned.

Director of Department of Industry and Trade replied:Of the 8 hydropower projects in Que Phong district, 2 have generated electricity, namely Ban Coc and Sao Va, while Hua Na hydropower is in the process of storing water and preparing for electricity generation, and all procedures related to compensation have been completed. The Provincial People's Committee has directed to stop construction of small-capacity hydropower projects, unqualified contractors, and projects that do not affect the province's power planning. Of these, 2 hydropower projects in Que Phong district have started construction but have stopped without a land lease contract, and the money for dam construction and road construction has been compensated to the people.

Delegate Cut Thi Nguyet (Ky Son unit): When will the My Ly hydropower project start? The consequences of the construction of hydropower projects such as the recent landslides and siltation of the Nam Non river flow have affected the traffic and environment of the people in the Ban Ve hydropower reservoir area.

Director of Department of Industry and Trade replied:In the planning, My Ly commune has 2 hydroelectric projects. However, the Provincial People's Committee has decided to stop construction of a small 30MW project. The Lao Government has agreed to allow Vietnam to invest in building a hydroelectric plant for the 250MW project near the Vietnam - Laos border. In 2011, the survey for the construction of the plant began, but to date there have been no results. The estimated investment capital for the plant is 5,000 billion VND. In the current difficult conditions, the project has not been implemented. In the incident of sedimentation blocking the Nam Non River in May 2012, the Provincial People's Committee directed an interdisciplinary survey team to come up with a solution to build a road for people, and the reservoir area can be used for traffic. The cost is borne by Ban Ve Hydroelectric Company.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Nga (Thanh Chuong) requested the Director of the Department of Industry and Trade to clarify the matter of replacing old meters with new meters with fees and some other costs without receipts. Currently, some localities in Thanh Chuong rural power grids are seriously degraded, affecting people's lives. With the responsibility of the governing body, please clarify who is responsible?

Mr. Phan Thanh Tinh explained:When replacing old meters with new meters periodically, electricity employees do not have the right to collect money from people. If they collect money from people, it is wrong. Some localities such as Nam Dan and Anh Son have violations that have been handled. The degraded power grid infrastructure after the handover of the rural power grid, first of all, the responsibility for protecting assets belongs to the people, and the direct management is Nghe An Electricity Company.

Delegate Kim Van Duyen (Quy Chau) wondered: Quy Chau has 3 communes and 15 villages without electricity. The locality has proposed that the State invest in building power lines for these communes and villages, but so far it has not been resolved. Responding to this issue, Mr. Phan Thanh Tinh said: The whole province currently has 23 communes without power grids to the commune center, more than 1,500 villages without power grids. Investing in power grids to remote villages requires a huge amount of money. The Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Industry and Trade to set up a project to invest in building power lines for these communes and villages by 2015. The estimated cost is more than 1,000 billion VND to the center of the cluster of communes and villages.

Director of Department of Industry and Trade answered questions from delegates.

Delegate Phan Thi Thanh Hien (Thai Hoa Town) and delegate Ho Van Hai (Quynh Luu) mentioned the slow handover of low-voltage and medium-voltage grids, the people's investment money has not been paid, who is responsible and when will it be paid?

Mr. Trinh Phuong Tram - Director of Nghe An Electricity CompanyAnswer: Up to now, Nghe An Power Company has received 271 communes. The total estimated remaining value of the received assets is 90 billion VND (including capital contributed by the people and investment capital of the State). Investors of rural low-voltage power grid projects mostly do not have original records related to capital structure, settlement approved by competent authorities. There are not enough loan contracts, documents proving the debt, people's loan papers, records reflecting the amount of debt paid and unpaid debt... Therefore, the competent authority has not yet approved the repayment value to serve as a basis for the electricity sector to repay capital for rural low-voltage power grid. Nghe An Power Company will coordinate with the Department of Finance to have a timely payment method for localities.

Delegates Vu Thi Thanh Huong (Tan Ky) and Le Van Tri (Anh Son) were indignant: Power cuts without notice, late payment of electricity bills will result in power cuts, poor quality of rural power grid, many places have lights on above and lights below, electricity bills are collected not in accordance with state regulations, is this a monopoly of the electricity industry?

Mr. Phan Thanh Tinh replied:In some localities with poor electricity quality, the Department of Industry and Trade has focused on upgrading the power grid system. The high electricity price is due to inadequate infrastructure, resulting in large power losses.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Trinh Phuong Tram further explained: regarding electricity prices, the electricity industry collects electricity prices according to the Government's regulations. Service units selling electricity to people must go through local authorities. Due to lax management, the same locality has many different electricity prices. Therefore, it is recommended that localities strengthen coordination with the electricity industry when there is information that needs to be notified to the electricity industry to promptly handle violations. Planned power outages are widely announced by the electricity industry on mass media, while sudden power outages are due to incidents. Mr. Tram affirmed: The electricity industry is promoting corporate culture, eliminating monopoly thinking, changing management methods, and implementing better electricity supply for people.

Concluding the content of this question, comrade Dinh Thi Le Thanh assessed: the question was concise and focused. The answer of the Director of the Department of Industry and Trade was straightforward with a high sense of responsibility. Proposing the Provincial People's Committee to coordinate with Nghe An Electricity to pay attention to the following issues: The exploitation of hydropower projects must be associated with sustainable development, ensuring the environment. Consulting localities to properly resolve the resettlement work for people to have a better life. The handover of low-voltage power grid in 2013, receiving 31 more communes outside the Re II project; 42 communes were returned the medium-voltage power grid. Proposing the Provincial People's Committee to direct Nghe An Electricity to coordinate with the Department of Finance to evaluate and have a plan to soon refund the investment money to the people. Strive to have all communes have electricity by 2015. In terms of State management, the Department of Industry and Trade needs to strengthen inspection work, strictly handle violations, for the quality of service to the people.

Thanh Le -Photo: Sy Minh