HCMC – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has issued a new circular revising the framework for electricity generation prices, imported power prices, and pricing methodologies, aiming to update cost formulas and expand the scope of application in line with market conditions.
Circular 54/2025 amends two earlier regulations and broadens the generation price framework to cover power plants whose tariff schedules or power purchase agreements have expired, BOT projects transferred to the State, and small renewable energy plants no longer eligible for avoided-cost mechanisms.
The new framework will serve as the pricing basis for generators operating without preferential tariffs or long-term contracts. The circular also clarifies which domestic organizations and businesses fall under the revised rules.
Several categories are excluded from the framework, including strategic multi-purpose hydropower plants, renewable projects still benefiting from avoided-cost tariffs, units dedicated to ancillary services, and standalone battery energy storage systems.
For the first time, the regulation introduces the definition of “flexible power plants,” referring to facilities using internal combustion engines (RICE) or aero-derivative gas turbines capable of rapid startup. These modular plants are designed to support system balancing as renewable energy capacity rises.
The circular also updates definitions and calculation methods for pumped-storage hydropower, reflecting the specific characteristics of storage technologies that rely on elevation differences between reservoirs.
MOIT has added a range of technical and financial parameters used to build the generation price framework, including investment costs, discount rates, loan interest, capital structure, and other input assumptions. Each parameter is now tied to specific data sources and timelines to enhance transparency and implementation consistency.
The ministry has asked relevant agencies and operators to report any implementation challenges so regulations can be adjusted in line with power market developments and system operation needs.
