NA Standing Committee discusses supervision of electricity policy implementation

A report by the team pointed to a number of limitations in legal regulations and policies in the field as well as their implementation, and recommended solutions in the short, medium and long terms, said Cuong at the NA Standing Committee’s 27th session on October 12.

Explaining some issues discussed at the session, Chairman of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment and deputy head of the supervision team Le Quang Huy said that the focal point of the team’s supervision is power prices, including financial investment mechanisms in the electricity sector, and ensuring financial investment mechanisms for electric energy security.

Regarding just energy transition, he said this is an important goal that need the support from international community in terms of capital, technology and governance capacity.

NA Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong said that the report should further clarify problems in managing the prices of power, coal, gas and petrol, pointing out the reasons and responsibility of particular agencies.

Besides, it is necessary to make more careful assessment of the implementation of the National Power Development Plan for the 2011-2020 period (PDP 7), and the settlement of problems in power planning and transmission, he said.

He also asked the team to define major solutions and the scenario to ensure power security, and solutions to the power planning and power infrastructure issues.

Deputy Government Inspector General Le Sy Bay asked the NA inspection team to add to the report contents related to the adjustment of power and petrol price definition mechanism, power resources and power grid management.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue underlined that the supervision work should clarify the responsibility of particular agencies and organisation. It should focus on the implementation of the PDP 7 and the plan to realise the PDP 8.

Meanwhile, the a resolution in the work should give major contents to be implemented in the time to come, including the just energy transition, the removal of bottlenecks in institution and policy regarding energy development, he said, stressing the need for the addition of data and updates on the real situation in the draft resolution.

According to the supervision report, in the 2016-2021 period, along with achievements in power supply for socio-economic activities, there were still a number of shortcomings, including those on developing solar and wind power as well as small-scale hydropower plants, and the power infrastructure development.

Greater attention has been paid to economical and efficient use of energy, and energy transition in an equal and sustainable manner, it said. It underlined that the energy transition process in Vietnam requires huge investment capital, changes in mindset, management methods, and technological innovation, while the scale of the country's economy is still modest, and the domestic energy market has been increasingly dependent on the world energy market. This has continued to affect and pose many challenges for the country in energy development, especially ensuring immediate and long-term energy security, said the report./.