An engineer operates an electricity production system at the Dong Nai Hydropower Plant in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The competitive electricitywholesale market will be fully operational starting in 2019 following asuccessful year-long pilot period.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong spokeabout the development of the marketplace at a recent meeting in Hanoi.
Vuong said the development of a competitive electricitymarket is a long-term plan for Vietnam’s electricity sector as mandated in the2004 Electricity Law. The details of the plan were specified in the PrimeMinister’s Decision 63/QD-TTg in 2013, which laid out the conditions andstructure of the new market.
The marketplace was to be developed in three distinct parts:the electricity generation market, the wholesale market and the retail market.
The generation market started in 2012, and the wholesalemarket is expected to open next year. The final stage will be the developmentof the retail market.
In the pilot period for the wholesale market, performancemetrics were tracked and used to improve service.
“The test run we carried out over the past year will be thebasis for assessing the viability of the market’s approved design,” Vuongtold chinhphu.vn. “Participating companies and service providers have usedit to gradually get acquainted with the new mechanisms.”
Vuong said the Ministry of Industry and Trade has instructedrelevant agencies to focus on completing the pilot period by the end of theyear so the market can open next year at the latest. The remaining time of thetrial period will be used to improve information technology infrastructure andfinish training companies in how the market works.
Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the ElectricityRegulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV), said the agency is preparing toput energy generated by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN)’s hydroelectric plantsinto the market. The next step will be to allow renewable energy providers toconnect the national grid.
To protect investors in renewable energy and ensure themarket is operated fairly, experts say State agencies should developregulations that support small power plants with a capacity under 30MW. Thismove would boost the renewable energy sector and help the long-term health ofthe marketplace.
Deputy Director of the National Load Dispatch Centre of Vietnam(NLDC) Vu Xuan Khu told congthuong.vn that, during the pilot period,electricity companies have improved their business practices.
According to the NLDC, the nascent market has had to overcomechallenges stemming from IT infrastructure shortages and the unability toforecast hydroelectric output.
The ERAV, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, reportedthat 87 power plants have entered the electricity generation market over thepast five years, with a total capacity of nearly 23,000MW.
ERAV representative Le Hong Hai said the market has alreadyincreased its transparency and helped create a system that investors can trustto integrate their new power plants into the national electric grid.
However, Hai said the insufficient IT infrastructure willlimit the effectiveness of the market.-VNA
VNA
