On June 9, 2026, Lao Dong Newspaper in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade organized the Workshop "Energy Transition - Driving Force for Two-digit Growth Goals". The issue of ensuring power supply in extreme weather contexts, or the issue of retail electricity prices, is of great interest to speakers and readers.
Building an electricity scenario to cope with extreme heat
Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu - Deputy Director of the Electricity Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade said: In 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade builds with 3 scenarios as follows:
Basic scenario: The load forecast is 8.5% growth compared to 2025.
Operating scenario: Forecast load growth rate up to 11.7%.
Provisional scenario: Forecast load demand to increase by 14.1% compared to 2025.
Throughout the first months of the year and especially from the beginning of April to now, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has continuously monitored the situation of load growth. Especially during hot spells.
Since the beginning of the year, we have had 2 heat waves, especially the heat wave from May 23 to May 27, load demand growth has been recorded at a record level.
Compared to the record day of 2025, August 4, 2025, on May 27, 2025, load growth reached 9.3%. Especially the growth in electricity consumption capacity and electricity consumption output in the North was recorded at a very high level.
By May 27, the electricity load in the North had increased to approximately 30,000 MW. If in 2025, the load in the North - the peak of the North - was recorded at 26,400 MW, then right at the beginning of this year's hot season, it was recorded at 30,000 MW.
We expect that during the extreme heat waves of June, July, and August this year, the national load may reach 60,000 MW and the load of the North may reach 32,000 MW.
Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with the focal point being the Electricity Department, has also directed the unit operating the electricity system and electricity market (NSMO) to prepare scenarios for operating the electricity system in such extreme conditions. At the same time, direct Vietnam Electricity Group, power generation units and National Power Transmission Corporation:
Implement investment projects to upgrade the transmission grid to ensure response to extreme conditions, ensure smooth operation of the national transmission grid, especially transmission from the South and Central to the North.
Power generation units and Vietnam Electricity Group must prepare primary fuels to meet the increasing demand for electricity, especially power plants in the Northern region.
For Vietnam Electricity Group, we also direct EVN and Power Corporations to urgently build and invest in building Energy Storage Centers (BESS) at load junctions to help us have more flexibility in operating the power system and providing sufficient capacity during peak hours, especially evening rush hours.
Retail electricity price frameworks at different time frames will be re-regulated
This load chart for 2026 has shown that evening peak hours have increased at a very high level compared to daytime peak hours. Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also issued peak hours, normal hours and off-peak hours.
Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu said: "Currently, we are amending Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade detailing the principles of application and subjects of retail electricity prices in Vietnam.
Accordingly, the retail electricity price framework for peak hours, normal hours and off-peak hours is re-regulated. That is, we are converting from 2 peak hours a day plus 3 peak hours in the evening to a peak hours in the evening from 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM. These solutions will help the unit operating the electricity system and the electricity market to operate stably and ensure power supply in 2026".
According to Mr. Vu, in the long term, in the years 2027 to 2030, we need more new power sources to put into operation, especially renewable energy sources, solar power, and wind power in the North. We see that a relatively large scale of solar power can be developed, because the proportion of renewable energy in general and solar power in particular in the structure of power sources in the North is still very low and we still have a lot of room for development.
The only issue here is the electricity price. Because the potential of solar power in the North has lower radiation than in the Central and Southern regions, the solar power price must definitely be higher than the solar power price in the Central and Southern regions.
Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is being assigned by the Government to amend the Electricity Law to update policies and remove difficulties according to Resolution 70 of the Politburo, and submit it to the Government for submission to the National Assembly for approval at the National Assembly session in October this year.
We hope that policy solutions will basically remove difficulties and obstacles in investing in power sources and grids for the development of the power system according to the adjusted Power Plan VIII" - Mr. Vu said.
