HCMC – Hiep Phuoc Power Company has agreed to hand over its power grid to Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) for free.
Hiep Phuoc Power agrees on free grid handover to EVN
By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – Hiep Phuoc Power Company has agreed to hand over its power grid to Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) for free.
Pham Hong Tien, manager of Hiep Phuoc Power’s Technical Division, told the Daily on Thursday the company had spent big on the grid for ten years but it was willing to transfer its 110kV and 22 kV lines from its power plant to Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone and Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park.
However, for the power line to Phu My Hung town, EVN will have to hold talks with the developer of the town, Phu My Hung Corporation, since it is this firm that built the grid.
Hiep Phuoc now supplies power for nearly 200 enterprises in Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone and Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park. It is also the electricity seller of thousands of families in the Saigon South residential area.
After EVN takes over the power grid, Tien said, Hiep Phuoc will sell all power generated from its plant to EVN at a price of 17 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour, which may change depending on oil prices.
Currently, half of the electricity output of Hiep Phuoc Power is bought by EVN and the remainder is sold to the manufacturing enterprises and the southern residential area at 5 to 7.5 cents.
In a document sent to the city government Tuesday this week, Zhang Yin Fu, general director of Hiep Phuoc Power, said that to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for the clients, EVN should take over the power grid and sell power to all clients of Hiep Phuoc Power from early May.
“The current contracts between Hiep Phuoc Power and its clients would be liquidated and these clients would have to sign contracts directly with EVN,” Zhang said in the document.
Zhang said Hiep Phuoc Power was under financial stress. Therefore, if the grid handover is not finalized by May 1 this year, Hiep Phuoc Power can no longer supply power.
In response to Hiep Phuoc’s intention of the free power grid handover, the Daily on Thursday tried to contact EVN leaders several times for comment, but got no reply.
Commenting on Hiep Phuoc’s suggestion, Nguyen Trung Tin, vice chairman of the city, told the Daily on the phone on Thursday the city government on Thursday wrote to the central Government asking for approval for the Ministry of Industry and Trade and EVN to set up an assessment committee to quickly receive the grid from Hiep Phuoc.
Beside the petition for a quick power grid handover, Tin said, the city asked the central Government to order Hiep Phuoc Power to ensure stable power supply for its clients pending the solutions from related agencies.
Last week, Hiep Phuoc Power threatened to cut off power supply for all the 86 operating enterprises at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park from early next month because of the rising diesel oil prices and the lack of compensation for its huge losses.
Doan Hong Tam, general director of Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park Joint Stock Company, the developer of the industrial park, said the 86 enterprises at the industrial park still worry about a power outage in coming days. They hoped this controversial matter will be solved soon.