EVNGENCO1 ensures coal supply for thermal power plants

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam Electricity (EVN)’s Power Generation Corporation 1 (EVNGENCO1) said on March 8 that it has built a coordination plan to ensure coal supply for thermal power production.

Accordingly, the company will sign a contract to import this year’s first batch of 1 million tonnes of coal to serve the operation of Duyen Hai 3 Thermal Power Plant.

In March, EVNGENCO1 will work with subsidiaries of the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited and the Ministry of National Defence’s Dong Bac coal corporation to ensure coal supply for its thermal electricity plants.

It will also sign a series of mid- and long-term contracts to make sure the operation runs smoothly in 2019 and the years following.

The plan looks to prepare for the peak months of dry season this year. Currently, the amount of domestic coal still meets production demand, however a stock shortage has been noticed.

EVNGENCO1 reported its electricity output at 2.53 billion kWh in February, up 27 percent year-on-year. Of the total figure, thermal power generated over 2.05 billion kWh, while hydropower produced 487 million kWh.

As thermal power accounts for the largest proportion of Vietnam’s energy production, the country is facing challenges to ensure a sufficient supply of coal for its plants in the coming years.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, by 2020, Vietnam is expected to produce about 26,000 MW of coal-fired thermal power, accounting for 49.3 percent of the total electricity generation and consuming about 63 million tonnes of coal.–VNA