Step to transition to transparency and fairness for the electricity market
The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to pilot two-component electricity prices for manufacturing customers from the beginning of next year, to officially test and expand the application from August 2027. According to the draft decision, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to apply a two-component electricity price mechanism in 4 stages.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) - proposed to consider the current application only as a large manufacturing customer with an output of 200,000 kWh/month or more and a power supply connection of 22kV or more (a customer group that applies the direct power purchase and sale mechanism - DPPA according to regulations), not yet applied to domestic customers due to having to invest in replacing the entire metering system.
Researching and converting the mechanism to the retail price of two-component electricity at the current stage is necessary and appropriate. This creates transparency and fairness among electricity customers, accurately reflecting the nature of customers' electricity use in the electricity system" - Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan emphasized.
In an interview with Lao Dong, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang - Institute of Energy Technology (Hanoi University of Science and Technology) - said that with the current one-component electricity price mechanism, customers only pay according to the amount of electricity consumed (kWh), without having to pay any additional costs related to the maximum capacity they require from the system. This leads to a situation where many customers have very high electricity consumption in a short time, causing great pressure on power sources and grids but still only pay the same cost as regular customers with small capacity, causing the investment cost of the power system to be unfairly distributed.
The application of two-component prices is a popular approach in many countries with developed electricity markets, contributing to encouraging customers to adjust the load chart, use electricity more effectively, avoid consuming electricity at a peak level that is too high, thereby reducing the risk of overloading the power grid, reducing the need to invest in large reserves - Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang assessed.
Regarding the pilot proposal for large-scale manufacturing customers with an output of 200,000 kWh/month or more, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang said that this proposal is reasonable because this is a high-consumption group, which can significantly affect the operation of the power system.
There needs to be a roadmap carefully prepared to avoid causing shock
According to Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang, the two-component electricity price is a complex model that requires an accurate measurement system, real-time load data, analytical capacity of the electricity industry and the ability to receive information of enterprises. Therefore, if applied suddenly, it can create a cost shock and negative reactions from customers.
Enterprises with even loads and high occupancy rates will benefit from lower average occupancy costs. On the contrary, businesses that use interrupted electricity and extremely high loads will have to pay additional to the reserve capacity that the electricity industry must maintain to meet sudden demand.
This mechanism also causes difficulties for businesses that install large-capacity rooftop solar power systems because the capacity fee will be high while the amount of electricity needed to mobilize from sunlight hours can significantly reduce the required capacity. The calculation of the effectiveness of rooftop solar power installation solutions will change significantly. However, it also partly encourages businesses to install a power storage system using large batteries to reduce the system's regulation pressure.
"This will force businesses to recalculate production plans and allocate shifts more appropriately to avoid overload during peak hours. In the long term, this is a positive driving force to promote efficient electricity use and reduce pressure to invest in the system's reserve capacity. However, in the short term, the risk is that many businesses are not used to the concept of maximum capacity, do not have a specialized department for energy management, leading to the possibility of unexpected cost increases and negative reactions to policies - Dr. Nguyen Xuan Quang assessed.
On the business side, Mr. Dao Hong Quan - Production Director of a company specializing in iron and steel in Dong Van Industrial Park (Ninh Binh) said that as a heavy industrial manufacturing enterprise, the electricity bill will cost about 900 million VND - 1 billion VND per month, the application of two-component electricity prices will greatly affect the production costs of the enterprise.
If we suddenly apply two-component electricity prices, our electricity costs could increase sharply, causing cash flow shock and reducing competitiveness. Currently, we do not have a specialized load optimization department or a maximum capacity measurement system, so if we do not have technical consulting support, it will be very difficult to adapt in a short time. The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to soon announce the pricing formula and hypothetical scenarios so that businesses can proactively calculate cost flows to avoid being passive" - Mr. Dao Hong Quan proposed.
