Vietnam May Float Electricity Prices beginning in 2010

Vietnam will likely float electricity prices beginning January 1, 2010, and will adjust the price once a year on March 1 annually, according to a draft circular from the Ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.

 

Under the draft, the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) will submit an electricity price adjustment plan to the national electricity price regulation group before October 20 each year for consideration, and then the group will report the plan to the Ministry of Industry and Trade prior to December 1.

 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will have the autonomy to approve the adjustment plan that suggests electricity price hikes or cuts of a maximum 5 per cent.

 

The prime minister, however, will approve EVN’s proposal for power price increases or decreases of more than 5 per cent.

 

The draft said that electricity prices of the following years must be based on actualities of power production and trading and on the average prices in surrounding countries.

 

The Vietnamese Prime Minister has recently requested that the state-run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) separate into five independent corporations to distribute electricity in the North, the Central region, the South, Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City in a bid to restructure the national power sector. (Vietstock)