Planned power cuts shock Haiphong firms

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According to Haiphong City Power Supply Steering Committee, the Northern Power Corporation would provide a maximum capacity of 487 megawatts per day to Haiphong from March to June 2011, but the city would need around 550MW per day.

The committee, thereby, said businesses in Haiphong would have 84 per cent of power demand met and they needed to take measures to cut down 16 per cent of their daily power consumption.

Besides, the Haiphong Power Department regulated that businesses using more than the 84 per cent benchmark would incur power cuts on the following day.

Power cuts will also take place in rotation among city’s diverse areas from March.

Domestic and foreign-invested firms reacted fiercely to the proposed plans.

Deputy director of Vietnam National Chemical Group’s DAP fertiliser plant Le Tham Duong said the 84 per cent level was ‘inappropriate’. “It is not simple to get the DAP plant kicked-start. Besides, the whole production chain would stop operating at sudden power cuts, incurring significant losses,” he said.

Deputy director of Dinh Vu Port Authority Cao Van Tinh suggested applying power-cuts in several consecutive days in a week then provide businesses with sufficient power in the remaining days. “In doing so, companies can still ensure production,” Tinh said.

He added that power-cuts would cause serious goods stagnation at ports.

Industrial zones developers also have a pressing headache.

Deputy head of Hai Phong Economic Zone Authority said businesses feared  the prospective power-cuts.

For example, Do Son Industrial Zone  consumes about 65MW per day, but it is distributed only 36MW per day, nearly a half of the actual demand.

Saigon-Hanoi Industrial Zone  deputy director Bui The Long said the industrial zone was urged to slash up to 50 per cent of its daily power consumption.

The Saigon-Hanoi Industrial Zone  reportedly accommodated 15 investors from the US and Japan and many investors have registered to set up businesses in the zone in the coming period.