Price freeze on Vietnam's electricity exports: govt

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Ros Dina
Friday, 29 May 2009

Government says it negotiated price freeze in this week's Hanoi meetings.

CAMBODIAN energy officials said Thursday that Vietnam has agreed not to raise prices on electricity exports following discussions in Hanoi this week.

In negotiations held Tuesday that included Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sen, the two sides also discussed an increase in the supply of electricity exported from Vietnam to Cambodia that would see the current 90 megawatts raised to 200MW in the next few months. The original contract - which fixed the sale price - was signed in 2000.

"[Vietnam] planned to increase the price of electricity as part of the contract we already signed that is valid until 2011," said Ith Praing, secretary of state at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, adding that Vietnam wished to raise the price following the enactment of a law that had seen domestic electricity prices increase.

"The price of electricity from Vietnam won't be increased until the end of the contract in 2011," he said.

Hanoi sent a letter to the government a year ago, but the ministry rejected a request to raise the price, said Ith Praing.

Payment for the electricity supply is being covered by a US$50 million loan by the Asian Development Bank.

Takeo province has absorbed around 70 megawatts of the electricity supplied by Vietnam as part of the deal, with the remainder used in the capital.

Both the ministry and state electricity company Electricite du Cambodge refused to disclose the price paid to Vietnam as part of the deal and the new price requested by Hanoi.

Much of the additional supply provided by Vietnam will go to Phnom Penh, an unnamed EDC official said Thursday.