Danger of coal shortage for power production, Ministry of Industry and Trade directs urgently

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just issued Document No. 1225/BCT-DKT dated March 11, 2022 on “ensure the supply of coal for power production“.

In this document, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested the Vietnam Coal-Mineral Industry Group (TKV) and the Northeast Corporation to immediately take measures to ensure coal production capacity, implement all solutions to ensure the safety of coal production. ensure sufficient coal supply for thermal power plants in accordance with the signed coal sale and supply contracts. Especially, BOT thermal power plants use domestic coal to avoid the situation that the Vietnamese side has to compensate for shutdown due to lack of fuel.

According to this document, in any case, the units are not allowed to lack coal for power production as committed in the signed coal sale and supply contract. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also requested EVN to direct the National Load Dispatch Center (A0) to have a dispatching solution suitable to the actual situation as well as to notify the monthly updated mobilization plan to the investor of the projects. coal-fired power plants to promptly arrange coal sources for power production.

Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Trade received a number of documents from some coal-fired power plant investors reporting that TKV and Dong Bac Corporation did not supply enough coal in the first 2 months of 2022 according to the contract. signed coal trading and supply contracts.

The data reported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that, in February, the total amount of coal actually supplied by TKV Group and the Northeast Corporation to EVN’s coal-fired power plants was equivalent to only 69.24 % of signed contract volume and much lower than the operating needs of these plants.

In particular, Vinh Tan 1 BOT coal-fired power plant is also not supplied with enough coal according to the coal supply contract signed at the end of 2013 and as such, may lead to the risk of Vietnam having to compensate due to the shutdown. engine due to lack of fuel.

In a document of TKV Group, one of the reasons for not providing enough coal for electricity production in the recent time is due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, leading to a shortage of human resources. work in coal mines. In addition to the complicated situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, which continues to be complicated, especially the number of infections has increased sharply since the Lunar New Year, another remarkable development has impacted the international energy market. reality is life Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In the days since late February, prices of fuels such as oil, gas, gasoline and even coal in many international markets have continuously increased. Transporting fuel by all modes of transport is difficult due to sanctions, including coal seagoing ships. This not only limits the volume of coal circulating in the market, but also makes the international coal price increase to an unprecedented record compared to before.

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