EVN Ha Noi engineers maintain a rural electrical network in Ha Noi's Hoai Duc District. The city's Department of Industry and Trade has proposed an increase of 15 per cent in electricity rates in rural areas. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha |
Without the rate increase, electricity companies serving these areas would suffer increasing losses, said Pham Trung Son, deputy head of the department, who signed the proposal.
Under Ministry of Trade and Industry Circular No 08 on electricity rates for 2010, these electricity companies buy electricity from the Electricity of Viet Nam Group at VND703 (US$0.04) per kWh and then distribute electricity to pumping stations at a maximum rate of VND717 per kWh.
The industry and trade department proposal is that this rate ceiling should be raised to VND770 per kWh.
Current rates created losses of VND15-20 million ($770 – 1,025) per month for a single enterprise, said Dam Tien Thang, head of the department's electricity management unit, noting that there were about 110 such businesses trading in electricity in 80 communes throughout Ha Noi.
Craft villages such as Trieu Khuc, La Phu and Duong Lieu, with high demand for electricity for production, generated even greater losses, Thang said, requiring electricity enterprises to invest heavily in transformers and other infrastructure for electricity transmission and distribution.
Thang argued that while the current model of retailing electricity through non-State enterprises in rural areas aimed at demonopo-lising electricity distribution, rate restrictions prevented these enterprises from operating profitably.
Nguyen Di Sinh, who runs a business in Duong Lieu Village, said he wasn't aware of the proposal to raise electricity rates.
"Current electricity rates are already too high for us," Sinh said. "If the price increases, we certainly will have to increase our product prices accordingly."
The Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade has also proposed that the ministry issue guidance on procedures, responsibilities and time frame for refunding infrastructure maintenance costs incurred by enterprises operating local electricity distribution networks and transformer stations. — VNS
No comments:
Post a Comment