Causing a stir among residents in recent days, many households were surprised to receive notifications of June electricity prices. This is originally the peak hot month, the number of family members increases as young children enter the summer vacation. However, many people did not believe their eyes when they saw the June electricity bill.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung (Yen Hoa ward, Hanoi) - said: "I feel that the frequency and electricity output are still used like that, but I don't understand why the electricity price has increased 1.5 times compared to every month. I have read information, it is known that the current peak hour electricity price is not applied to domestic use and households".
Sharing the same feeling, Ms. Tran Thi Chinh (Thanh Xuan ward, Hanoi) noticed a clear change when looking at the electricity and water bills in June: "I see that electricity and water bills both increased sharply, I don't understand why. My house's electricity bill last month was only about 1.5 million VND, in June the price increased to nearly 3 million VND, nearly 2 times higher. Every year in June, families always use more output, not just my family alone".
However, according to Ms. Chinh, the highest electricity price in June her family usually pays is about 1.8-2 million VND. "This month I complained in the residential group, everyone texted back that the price increased sharply" - Ms. Chinh expressed.
Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thu Huyen (Yen Hoa ward, Hanoi) said that her family's electricity bill increased from 1.4 million VND in May to 2.3 million VND in June.
Contacting Ba Dinh Power Company, Ms. Huyen received the answer: "That price has not doubled in my house, June is hot for a whole month, the air conditioner used to turn on for about 30 minutes to cool down, but now it takes 1 hour".
Regarding the proposal to apply electricity prices according to peak and off-peak hours for residential customers. Ms. Huyen is worried about the additional burden of costs when most of the time the family spends at home and living together is peak hours, from 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm, equivalent to 5 hours per day; except for Sunday.
Raising 2 young children in Hanoi is already a pressure for young couples. What additional costs will I have to recalculate, reduce spending to suit. If the number of days of applying peak hours is almost a whole week, it will make one of the two spouses have to work overtime, have more income and avoid focusing on peak hours" - Ms. Huyen said.
According to Mr. Phung Dinh Duong - a cooling system warranty employee, hot weather causes air conditioners to consume more electricity because compressors have to operate continuously and for longer periods. Just need the outdoor temperature to increase by a few degrees Celsius, the operating time of air conditioners also increases significantly. For example, if air conditioners used to only operate for about 4-5 hours a day, in severe heat waves they may have to run for 8-10 hours, even if the family's usage habits do not change.
For households that work all day but electricity bills still increase sharply, technical staff recommend checking according to the following steps:
Compare the electricity consumption (kWh) of this month with the previous month, instead of just looking at the amount to be paid.
Check the time of the electricity meter reading period to see if it is longer than usual.
Review large electricity consumption devices such as air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators to detect signs of abnormal operation.
Compare the index on the invoice with the actual index on the meter or on the electricity industry application (if any).
