The electric sector has sets a goal of producing 141.8 billion kWh of commercial electricity in 2015, or up 10.4 percent against last year, in order to meet demand which is expected to rise rapidly this year.

At a conference for implementing the 2015 plan in Hanoi on January 13, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) Group said the national power system has a total capacity of 34,000 MW with a standby capacity of 30 percent, with most plants in the northern and central regions.

One of the biggest challenges facing the sector, however, is to reduce electricity losses by at least 8.6 percent in line with the Government’s Decision 854.

According to Duong Quang Thanh, EVN deputy general director, the group is preparing a project on improving the effectiveness and productivity in production and business for the period of 2016-2020, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval by the end of the third quarter this year.

Under the project, electricity generation and purchase will be strictly supervised to minimise the costs besides striving to overfulfil goals in conserving electricity.

Along with meeting the demand for electricity and seeking new customers, Thanh said, the group will strictly control the calculation of electricity prices to make sure that the price levels will be applied to right users with right purposes.

The cost of investment and bidding process will be under strict scrutiny to make sure the bidding is fair and projects go according to schedule, he said.

The EVN plans to put the Vung Ang 1 and Mong Duong 2 thermoelectric plants into operation in 2015, while purchasing around 1.8 billion kWh of electricity from China and maintaining electricity sale to Cambodia.

Addressing at the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said that with the GDP growth goal of 6.2 percent in 2015, the electric sector needs to grow by at least 13 percent.

Hoang asked the EVN to ensure sufficient power supply, particularly for the South and operate safely hydroelectric plants as well as ensure the construction speed and quality of new electric projects.

Last year, the EVN expanded its power network to 99.59 percent of all communes nationwide, bringing electricity to 98.22 percent of rural households, already surpassing the goal set by the 11th National Party Congress for 2015 by 0.22 percentage points.-VNA