Richard Spencer, senior energy specialist under the World Bank in Vietnam, talked about the possible threats caused by the power shortage in Vietnam over the next few years.
One of the hottest topics nowadays, which is being discussed at all energy-related workshops, is the prolonged power shortage in Vietnam.
In fact, every country in the world experiences a period of power shortage in its process of economic development, and every country settles the problems in its own way. However, according to Mr Spencer, Vietnam is one of few nations in the world which sees a too rapid economic development and too sharp increase in power demand.
The World Bank has released a report which said that Vietnam would see a continued high economic growth rate in 2007, at 8.3%, and the figure is expected to reach 8.5% in the next year. With such a high economic growth rate, the demand for power will increase rapidly. The increase in power demand is estimated to reach 15-17% this year and 20% in 2008.
With such an increase in power demand, Vietnam will become a power import nation by 2015. This will be a big problem for policy makers in the next few years.
Mr Spencer said that the bad programming in power plant development was the main reason behind the power shortage. In Thailand, special attention has been paid to the programming of the power industry, while it is quite different in Vietnam, and it is understandable why electricity is lacking.
The suggestion Mr Spencer has made to settle the power shortage problem is that Vietnam should cooperate with regional countries in electricity grid development. The international grid will help Vietnam get the electricity volume it needs through agreements on purchasing power among the involved parties.
In order to do that, it would be necessary to develop infrastructure items, build transmission stations, linking the power regulatory centres of the regional nations. The stations would inform neighbours about power shortages when necessary, and electricity would be transferred from Laos to Vietnam and vice versa.
The building of such an international grid proves to be within reach and it should be kicked off by bilateral agreements on power purchasing and selling.
In the world, the signing of bilateral agreements and building up of common markets in several fields have been implemented. One typical example is the bilateral agreement signed between the US and Mexico.
However, Mr Spencer has warned that a series of problems will arise when national power grids connect to each other. Countries which connect their power markets have to use the same technology, have suitable operation plans, and share many other common principles. Meanwhile, they also have to think about solutions to possible conflicts, including disputes in payment method, power prices and others.
Source: VNE
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