Starting from May 10, the average retail price of electricity increased from VND 2,103.11 to VND 2,204.07/kWh (excluding VAT), an increase of 4.8%, according to the latest announcement from EVN. This is the first increase in 2025, after 8 months of holding prices stable since October 2024. According to regulations, electricity prices can be adjusted 4 times a year, if input costs increase by 2% or more.
Since the middle of the month when there was news of an increase in electricity prices, many landlords have also adjusted electricity prices to increase, exceeding the prescribed level by up to 4,000 - more than 5,000 VND/kWh.
Le Ngoc Quynh - a first-year student at a university in Dong Da area (Hanoi) shared that before the landlord increased the price of electricity, he had calculated a reasonable spending to save on tuition, living expenses and other necessary activities. However, since the news of the increase in electricity prices, Quynh has begun to worry about the bill next month increasing more money, taking over other expenses.
I use electricity a lot for studying, especially to charge a laptop, do homework and access the internet for research. From the day the landlord announced the increase in electricity price to 4,700 VND/kWh, much higher than the prescribed level, I am really worried about monthly spending" - Quynh shared.
Quynh was worried not only about the increase in electricity bills but also about the reaction of the landlord and the ability to pay at a time when students still had to receive support from their parents and had not found a more stable job. To cope, Quynh began to gradually reduce unnecessary electricity use activities such as turning off unused equipment and limiting the use of air conditioners.
Quynh also plans to discuss with the landlord about keeping rental prices more reasonable, hoping to have a consensus on sharing the increased costs.
Similar to Quynh's case is Phan Thuy Trang - a third-year student living in a rented house in Cau Giay area. Due to limited economic conditions, Trang had to work extra to make ends meet. Hearing the news of the increase in electricity prices, Trang felt worried because she expected the monthly spending to increase significantly.
Every previous month in the summer, I used about 300 electricity numbers. According to the new electricity price of the landlord, which has increased from 4,000 VND/kWh to 4,500 VND/kWh, I will lose about 1 million VND/month in electricity bills. The increase in electricity prices will greatly affect my expenses.
Because I have to work extra to get tuition and rent, I have to calculate every penny carefully. It was really surprising when the landlord adjusted the electricity price beyond the regulations, making me even more worried about the upcoming financial burden. Maybe during the day on hot days, I will be at school and have extra work to save electricity. At night, I only turn on the air conditioner about 1 hour before bed to cool the room and not leave it all night" - Trang said.
According to the calculation of the Statistics Office, the increase in average retail electricity prices by 4.8% will directly affect the consumer price index (CPI) in 2025 by about 0.09%.
However, many experts assess that it is necessary to control price fluctuations and avoid "water splashing in the rain", when electricity is an essential input energy of production, so it not only affects the CPI directly but also indirectly affects the prices of some other electricity-using products.
