Environmental Criteria for Hydropower in the Mekong Region - WWF

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The Current Status of Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region: A litterature compilation primarily to (i) bulk transmission; (ii) national load dispatch; and (iii) strategically important large multi-purpose hydropower projects. Power distribution and nonstrategic power generation will be gradually opened to ownership by private sector enterprises and more public sector enterprises. The steps toward a competitive power market include (i) establishing a competitive market for generation (between 2005-2014), starting with limited pilot market trials involving three existing thermal power plants, that are now underway; (ii) followed by establishment of a competitive wholesale market in stages (between 2015-2022); and (iii) the formation of the competitive retail market (after 2022). The Ministry of Industry (MOI) and Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) are overseeing the reform process. Apart from being responsible to “establish national power expansion planning in accordance with the roadmap to develop the power market”, ERAV’s other responsibilities include (i) issuing licenses to sector entities; (ii) advising on market structure and power industry restructuring policy; (iii) establishing tariff-setting principles, including transfer pricing between sector entities at the wholesale price level; (iv) developing tariffs for regulated activities; and (v) approving power purchase agreements. ERAV is thus a key actor to establish the rules to sustainably finance the environment management components of hydropower projects from revenues. Otherwise, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE) is the key actor to help enhance environment criteria for hydropower development. MONRE’s role is (i) defining the national EIA standards and approval processes; (ii) managing the evolving situation with establishing river basin organizations (RBO) (together with Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)) including how far and how fast IWRM/IRBM practices will evolve; (iii) issuing licenses for all hydraulic works including hydropower projects and (iv) as the national focal point for international conventions, where the Convention commitments are to be translated into national laws and policies (e.g., RAMSAR and the Convention on Biological Diversity). Here it is recognized the gap between policy and practice is wide. The nascent RBOs will take some time to develop before their true influence will be possible to gauge. At present, EVN (now established as a holding company before its component parts are equitized, e.g. hydropower stations) handles most of the investment in new power generation. In operational terms, EVN presently accounts for over 85% of generation, bulk power transmission and power distribution directly, and through intermediaries in some rural areas. Possible entry points for environment criteria relevant to hydropower development in Viet Nam could thus include: 8
The Current Status of Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region: A litterature compilation On Proposed Projects: - Up-front in the hydropower screening and ranking component of the hydropower master plan process; 7 - In the licensing procedures for IPPs and concession agreements and under the Water Law for hydraulic works; - Introducing environment flows assessments (EFA); - Relating to cross-border EIAs (e.g. projects in Viet Nam to consider downstream impacts where Cambodian stakeholders are unable to participate because of country boundaries). On Pipeline Projects: - Introducing EFA into detailed design studies (as part of the design criteria) and decision support systems for the operation of reservoirs - Introducing sustainable catchment management (“how to” criteria). On Existing Projects: - Introducing environment criteria into operation strategies of reservoirs (EFA techniques) and also linking these to flood mitigation strategies; - Introducing environment criteria into refurbishment and upgrading stages; and - Planning for eventual de-commissioning of dams. Public participation in the power planning system in Viet Nam is largely restricted to the project-level EIA processes that involve the People’s Committees structures at the provincial and sub-provincial levels. These processes also extensively engage with mass organizations like the Women’s Unions and Farmers Unions. In moving forward with participation, much depends on the participation rules that are written into the regulatory aspects of the new power market (e.g. granting licenses) as well as the degree of participation written into the operation regulations for the RBOs to be established under the Water Law (1998). MONRE will continue to define the rules for participation in the project environmental assessments that will precede decisions about the selection of hydropower projects and the EMPs that prescribe environmental mitigation, management and monitoring for construction, implementation and operation phases. 1.4 Thailand Thailand is important in the GMS hydropower picture mainly as the market for other GMS countries. Thailand may also play a role as a “wheeling” entity as the long-term 7 Environmental criteria have been introduced in the recent National Hydropower Plan (pending government approval) as part of the screening and ranking exercise. However, the validity of the work can be improved with participation in an open and transparent process to build consensus and improved baseline data. 9
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Environmental Criteria for Hydropower in the Mekong Region - WWF

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