Foreign-invested groups propose early implementation of PDP8

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with foreign-invested enterprises on April 22. Photo: The Government Office

During a conference with the Vietnamese prime minister on April 22, a number of foreign investors urged the government to swiftly approve the PDP8 and the direct electricity purchase and sale mechanism.

Greb Testerman, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham), said that the delay in the approval of the PDP8, the direct power purchase agreement (DDPA) from factories to industrial consumers, has impacted the decision of many companies to increase investment.

AmCham members are "concerned" about the inconsistency of Vietnam's electricity development policy. Testerman stated that they want Vietnam to "accelerate the licencing process" for renewable energy initiatives.

Testerman stated that the conclusion and implementation of the PDP8 and the DDPA mechanism will encourage renewable energy producers, particularly manufacturers in industrial zones, to engage in direct power purchase contracts.

In Vietnam, renewable energy is a catalyst for economic development and investment. European enterprises depend heavily on this energy source.

President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Gabor Fluit said that certain enterprises had to stop expanding because they had not met this requirement. "We propose to create better conditions for factories that have a demand for renewable energy," Fluit said.

This obstruction will be eliminated, according to Fluit, once Vietnam has a policy on direct power purchase and sale through direct power purchase contracts.

Vietnam is attracting a growing number of high-calibre investors, many of whom are devoted to the carbon-neutral roadmap. Consequently, these investors require prompt access to renewable energy, said US-ASEAN Business Council senior vice president and regional managing director Michael Michalak.

The regional executive director for ASEAN at USABC suggested that the approval processes for electricity projects be streamlined and accelerated. Even "early approval of projects that have completed the necessary procedures and issued the PDP8 is given priority."

The most recent draft of the PDP8 is being rushed to completion by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and its consulting agencies, and will be submitted to the prime minister for approval in May, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

The PDP8 was drafted in 2019 and submitted to the government by the MoIT at the end of 2021, but it has not yet been approved after undergoing numerous revisions.

Prime minister hosts meeting to complete PDP8 On September 28, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will work with leaders from many ministries and enterprises to discuss the National Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8).

Assessing the dual features of nation’s energy plan and PDP8 Vietnam’s immediate prime concern is to conclude its energy plans and establish a blueprint for sustainable growth. The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology’s Dr. Bui Huy Phung, a former member of the Power Development Plan VII (PDP7) Appraisal Council, responded to VIR’s Hai Van on this topic.