HCMC – Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) is seeking permission to factor VND44.8 trillion in accumulated losses into its power retail tariffs.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has finalized a draft decree revising Decree No. 72 on the mechanism and timeline for adjusting average retail electricity prices, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
The draft and its accompanying report have been sent to relevant ministries and agencies for feedback before being submitted to the Government for consideration.
Notably, according to a report by EVN, the surge in power purchase costs during 2022-2023, driven by global geopolitical tensions, left the group facing major challenges and an accumulated loss of around VND50 trillion over the two-year period.
By the end of 2024, EVN still carried accumulated losses of VND44.8 trillion, resulting in a decline in state investment capital in EVN and a failure to preserve state equity. Without recovery measures through electricity pricing, the shortfall in state capital from previous years cannot be promptly offset.
Therefore, EVN has sought approval to treat these accumulated losses as allowable costs to be included in the average retail electricity price.
At present, the mechanism for adjusting the average retail electricity price is governed by Decree No. 72. EVN has developed and calculated the average retail electricity price in line with the regulations for both annual and intra-year adjustments. This approach allows electricity pricing to be adjusted more promptly and flexibly than before.
However, some provisions still need to be reviewed and adjusted to ensure that all legitimate and reasonable costs are fully and accurately accounted for when determining and adjusting retail electricity prices.
Therefore, EVN has therefore proposed amending Decree No. 72 to allow the recovery of costs directly related to electricity production and supply that were not previously accounted for in the average retail electricity price.
