Proposal to apply two-component electricity prices to large-scale manufacturing customers
According to information from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on the afternoon of September 8, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien chaired a working session with units under the Ministry on the two-component electricity price.
At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) - proposed to consider the subjects of application as large manufacturing customers with an output of 200,000 kWh/month or more for connecting to a power supply of 22 kV or more (a customer group that applies the direct power purchase and sale mechanism - DPPA according to regulations), not yet applicable to domestic customers due to having to invest in replacing the entire metering system.
Researching and converting the retail price mechanism of electricity from the retail price of 1-component electricity (according to the electricity used) to the retail price of 2-component electricity (according to the power price and the electricity price) at the present stage is necessary and appropriate to correctly collect and fully the costs of the electricity industry to provide electricity to electricity customers (including the cost of using electricity infrastructure (source, power grid) and electricity costs).
This creates transparency and fairness among electricity customers, accurately reflecting the nature of customers' electricity use in the electricity system. However, this is a method that has never been applied in Vietnam, will fundamentally change the electricity industry and electricity prices, so it will take time to research, develop and assess the specific and thorough impact.
Concluding the meeting, the Minister of Industry and Trade said that opinions at today's meeting all agreed on the necessity of promptly implementing the two-component electricity price mechanism (capacity price and electricity price) according to the provisions of the Electricity Law. Currently, it will be applied to customers with large electricity consumption, starting from January 1, 2026.
Early completion of the 2-component electricity price project
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien directed the Electricity Department to preside over and coordinate with EVN and related units to review and complete the two-component electricity price project in a scientific and feasible manner, with lessons learned from the world and submit to the leaders of the Ministry and competent authorities before October 15, 2025; along with that, there must be an impact assessment report of the project, provide full information, and report to the Government.
The Electricity Department shall preside with relevant units and EVN to review, calculate, and propose amendments to Decision No. 14/2025/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the structure of retail electricity price lists based on current legal bases and the implementation process in practice.
At the same time, it is necessary to urgently develop a Circular amending Circular 16 to regulate how to build a price framework. This must be done in parallel with the roadmap for building a price framework for a two-component electricity price mechanism. In particular, EVN must play a key role in proposing methods to build a price framework, ensuring the principles of correctness, completeness, and full calculation of costs in the process of electricity production and business, including transmission costs.
Continue to advise the Government (or the Minister) to decide on the group of subjects applying the two-component electricity price mechanism. EVN needs to hire consultants, build transparent and smooth operating software, to be completed before October 20, 2025, but must closely follow the Electricity Law, Resolution 70, and the upcoming Decree of the Government to implement Resolution 70 of the Politburo. In the immediate future, this mechanism will apply to customers using large electricity, no cases are excluded. From now until December 31, two invoices will be run in parallel, one according to the current mechanism for actual payment, the other according to the two-component mechanism for customers to refer to and adjust themselves.
Fourth, EVN must proactively hire consultants and build management software to make operations transparent and smooth. All of these must be completed before October 20.
Finally, in parallel with the completion of the 2-component Electricity Price Project; from September 15, it is necessary to develop a complete communication plan, providing core information such as: Electricity Law, Resolution 70, draft Resolution of the Government, comparing regional and international electricity prices. The first phase applies to large customers, no one is subject to the policy. Later, when widely deployed, electricity prices according to peak and off-peak hours will ensure more fairness.
According to the report of the Electricity Department, the two-component electricity price is the price structure payable for the registered capacity and actual electricity use. This is a difference from the current price mechanism, which is the selling price according to a component of consumer electricity, that is, calculated according to the actual amount of electricity used. The current application of the method of calculating electricity prices by scale only reflects the amount of electricity consumed as the main and not true to the nature of electricity prices for each subject.
