energy

Of note, retail electricity prices in Vietnam are regulated and, though permitted, price rises are not all that common. This has led to EVN selling electricity below cost price. As of January, it was losing about VND 142.5 per kilowatt-hour sold. This has been ongoing for some time and has led to EVN accumulating the huge aforementioned losses. The issue here seems to be a reluctance to raise electricity prices rather than an inability to do so…

The government has gone to great lengths to assure foreign investors that the supply will be adequate this year, however, moves to eek out support from foreign investors in reducing their power consumption seems to suggest otherwise–Just weeks ago, it was reported that Apple supplier Foxconn had been asked to curtail its power usages by 30 percent in anticipation of power shortages…

Nuclear power in Vietnam has been floated before. In 2006, the government announce plans to have a nuclear power plant online by 2020 and this was followed a few years later by official plans for nuclear power plants in southern Vietnam in Ninh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces. These were, however, shelved in 2016 in favour of gas and coal on the back of lower demand projections…

This is interesting in that hydropower has been underutilised this year compared to last. Just 15 percent of Vietnam’s power came from hydro from January to April of this year, compared to 25 percent for the same period last year. At the same time it has been reported that about 64.6 percent of Vietnam’s electricity came from burning coal in April, whereas in 2023, on average, coal was responsible for just 46 percent of Vietnam’s electricity supply.

Vietnam committed to being net-zero by 2050 at the 26th Conference of Parties, however, there have been a number of roadblocks. A Just Energy Transition Partnership agreement, for example, signed back in 2022, was touted as the foundation for a move to greener power generation. Leaked British diplomatic cables, however, suggest there is little confidence among the JETP partners…

EVN was selling electricity at a loss for most of last year and 2022 and the start of this year too. This saw the state-owned enterprise accumulate losses of over US$1.5 billion. It has never been made clear how these losses have been covered but, in light of these claims, it could very well be that power producers may be footing the bill.

Promoting power conservation is not a new concept. This happens just about everywhere in the world. That said, what should be concerning is the volume of power Foxconn is being asked to cut. Whereas a firm might be able to save a few kilowatts here or there, it would be very unusual for a firm to be operating with an inefficiency in their power use of 30 percent.

Of note, in 2022 EVN reported a loss of US$1.5 billion with rises in fuel costs vastly outstripping the electricity retail price which is regulated. That said, Decision 24 issued back in 2017, the precursor to Decision 5, already had provisions for the electricity price to be adjusted annually, however, between 2019 and November 2023 no adjustment was made. It’s not clear why and in this context the frequency at which power prices are reviewed may not have been the crux of the problem.

Vietnam’s state power provider, Electricity Vietnam or EVN, is estimating a 12.24 percent rise in electricity consumption this month compared to May of last year, Tuoi Tre is reporting. The publication goes on to outline how EVN is preparing for a surge in demand over the summer, however, it lacks