A large number of high-quality personnel will be needed to meet the growing demand of the power market (Photo: VNA)
The Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) held a meeting on July 27 to review the operation of the competitive generation market and the competitive wholesale electricity market, which were piloted from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.
The ERAV, which is under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said by July 1 this year, 76 power plants had directly joined the electricity market. Their installed capacity totalled 20,728 MW.
Hydropower makes up 38 percent of the total capacity, coal-fired thermal power 35 percent, oil-fired thermal power 4 percent, and gas turbine power 17 percent. Other types of power plants account for 6 percent of the total capacity.
The ERAV said the electricity system continued to be operated safely and supplied sufficient power for social development.
However, it admitted that the installed capacity of the plants directly engaging in the power market accounts for just 49 percent of that of the whole system. At the same time, the IT infrastructure for the electricity market is just able to meet basic needs, the supervisory control and data acquisition system and the energy management system remain incomplete, hampering the forecast, planning, regulation and supervision of the power market.
The NLDC said due to El Nino impacts, the water volume at hydropower reservoirs declined in 2016, forcing more power factories to temporarily switch to indirect participation in the market.
The competitive wholesale electricity market is set to be piloted in three phases with phase I through the second quarter of 2017, phase II through the third quarter and phase III through the fourth quarter of the year.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said the power market has brought about encouraging outcomes and helped participating factories operate more stably.
As the electricity market in Vietnam is still young, it is necessary to step up personnel training and make precise forecasts for power demand, he noted, adding that factories must also ensure the safety of the reservoir operating process and the regulation of water in both rainy and dry seasons.