Energy associatiion calls for hike in power price

The Vietnam Energy Association has sent to the prime minister a petition to increase the electricity price to 8 US cents a kWh from the current 5 cents, and to eliminate the progressive price list.

According to the petition, the association suggests two kinds of power price. The first is subsidised power price for the first 50kWh of electricity consumed every month by poor and low-salaried people. The second is the market prices ranging from 7 to 8 cents charged on better-income people from the year 201l.

Besides, the association also suggests the establishment of a corporation under the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) in charge of managing power prices for poor households and public use. The government is also recommended to raise prices of gas and coal used to produce electric power. The power price increase is expected to boost foreign investment into the energy industry, as the current low power price is not attractive to foreign investors, making it hard to raise foreign funds for developing power projects.

Vietnam needs some USS4 billion a year to develop new power projects. To date, only two foreign-invested power projects have been licensed, as the low power price does not attract foreign investors. – Saigon Times

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam electricity prices, Vietnam energy

Posted by VBN on Aug 26 2010. Filed under Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry