Prime Minister requests EVN to publicize and make electricity prices transparent

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has just directed that Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) needs to focus all efforts to ensure sufficient electricity supply, while at the same time needing to publicize electricity prices and minimize administrative procedures.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits the Electricity Market Operation Office. Photo: Ngoc Ha/VNA

Ensure adequate electricity with high quality

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested that Vietnam Electricity (EVN) focus all efforts on ensuring sufficient electricity supply with increasingly high quality and reliability for socio-economic development and people's lives. At the same time, EVN continues to be a state-owned corporation playing a leading role in the electricity industry in performing the task of supplying electricity. EVN must effectively restructure the Corporation, improve its effectiveness, efficiency and competitiveness; innovate and arrange the power generation, distribution and retail sectors, operate the power system and the electricity market to ensure the effective operation of the competitive wholesale electricity market as planned, and at the same time be consistent with the development orientation of the competitive retail electricity market.

The Prime Minister requested that EVN only hold large power plants that are of special importance to the economy, society, national defense and security (6 current plants) and power plants related to the coordination of operations with these power plants, transmission and distribution grids, and equitize the remaining retail and service sectors; publicize and be transparent about costs, prices and electricity prices; resolutely fight corruption, especially in equitization and construction investment; build an electricity industry culture for the people, serving the people.

Promote administrative reform, improve electricity business and customer service, further improve service quality to meet the increasing demands of customers and society; continue to promote the increase of electricity bill payment rate through banks, assign specific targets to electricity corporations and electricity companies to gradually reduce direct contact between cashiers and electricity customers.

Minimize administrative procedures

The Prime Minister also requested EVN to continue to promote the implementation of measures to reduce electricity access time within the scope of the Group's management, and at the same time propose and recommend that ministries, branches and localities coordinate to reduce related administrative procedures to achieve the goal of being among the top 4 countries in the ASEAN region in terms of electricity access time.

Promote the implementation of environmental protection measures in investment in construction of power projects, especially meeting environmental protection regulations during the construction and operation of coal-fired thermal power plants; implement necessary measures to thoroughly overcome the risk of environmental pollution during the operation of some power plants, absolutely not allowing electricity production to affect the environment around the plant. In 2016, EVN made efforts to overcome difficulties, well performed all assigned tasks, making an important contribution to the overall achievements of the whole country.

Specifically, the Group has ensured sufficient electricity supply for the economy and people's lives nationwide. Up to now, the total power capacity of the national power system has reached about 41,600 MW, of which EVN and its member units have reached nearly 26,000 MW, accounting for about 62%. Commercial electricity in 2016 increased by 10.9% compared to 2015 and exceeded the plan by 210 million kWh. The Group has put into operation an additional 2,305 MW of new power capacity, especially completing the Lai Chau hydropower project - the last large hydropower plant in Vietnam, one year ahead of schedule, bringing about economic efficiency of about 5,000 billion VND and meeting the criteria of high-quality projects.

According to Government Office/News