On April 22, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision 963 regulating peak hours, off-peak hours and normal hours of the national power system.
Decision No. 1279 dated May 9, 2025 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows a very large difference between electricity prices during peak and off-peak hours, especially for manufacturing and commercial enterprises with large electricity demand in the evening.
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang - Institute of Energy Technology (Hanoi University of Science and Technology) assessed that adjusting current peak hours can have a positive impact on the power system if the power price factor is not considered.
He believes that the time period from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM is originally the time when household electricity demand increases, but the production activities of many businesses decrease. This helps better balance the load for the national power system.
In particular, this is also a period when there is no longer solar power, so the difference in peak and low electricity prices will create motivation to promote the development of energy storage solutions such as storage batteries or energy-intensive hydropower in the future.
When electricity prices reflect relatively closely to market signals, it will encourage the development of flexible power sources and promote more efficient operation of the power system," Mr. Quang assessed.
Regarding people's concerns about the application of the new peak electricity hours, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang affirmed that this policy applies to production and business customers and does not directly affect households using electricity for daily use.
Many people have recently expressed concern when hearing information that peak hours of electricity will last from the end of the afternoon to the evening, in the context of hot weather causing demand for air conditioners, fans and cooling equipment to increase sharply. However, it is necessary to understand clearly that the current electricity price calculation mechanism still applies according to the tiered retail electricity price schedule, not calculated according to peak and low hours like for production and business customers, so people do not need to panic," he emphasized.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the reasonable determination of peak and low hours (CTĐ hours) of the national power system will contribute to improving the electricity load coefficient (ratio between electricity used and maximum capacity), helping to optimize energy efficiency.
Through the electricity price mechanism according to the CTĐ time frame, customers will have the motivation to adjust their electricity consumption behavior to reduce electricity purchase costs; reduce use during peak hours and switch to off-peak hours, normal hours.
This helps flatten the load chart, reduce the difference between maximum capacity and average capacity, thereby improving the efficiency of exploiting power sources and reducing pressure on the power system during peak periods.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that reasonable adjustment of the CTĐ time frame of the national power system will contribute to improving the operation efficiency of the power system.
When the load chart is distributed more evenly over time, the power system will reduce the pressure to mobilize traditional power sources during peak hours, while limiting overcapacity during off-peak hours. This helps improve reliability, safety and flexibility in power system operation.
