Electricity prices may be adjusted upwards by 2-5% next October - Photo: QUANG DINH
According to the draft decree amending and supplementing the Law on Electricity, submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for review, the retail price of electricity reflects and adjusts promptly according to actual fluctuations in input parameters to compensate for losses.
Reasonable and legitimate costs, along with reasonable profits, are essential for preserving and developing the business capital of the enterprise, in accordance with the socio-economic conditions of each period and the level of competitive electricity market.
Are regulations being revised due to a series of unmet costs?
In practice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that the Government has issued Decree 72/2025 and the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has proceeded with the implementation of building and calculating the average retail electricity price according to the regulations on adjusting the average retail electricity price in 2025.
However, some direct costs related to electricity production and supply have not been fully accounted for or compensated in the average retail electricity price, leading to EVN incurring losses during the 2022-2023 period.
To minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social welfare and national economic development, electricity prices in 2022 were kept unchanged, despite increases in input factors such as imported coal prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war. Electricity prices in 2023 were adjusted upwards, but at a moderate level, so the adjusted price was still much lower than the necessary increase. Therefore, the increase in electricity prices has not yet fully recovered the incurred costs.
According to EVN's report, the cumulative losses for the two years 2022-2023 amounted to approximately 50,029 billion VND. Although EVN made a profit in 2024, the cumulative losses of the parent company - EVN - still amounted to approximately 44,792 billion USD.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that, according to the Corporate Income Tax Law, in the case of a business incurring losses, the loss carryforward period is continuous and does not exceed 5 years from the year the loss occurred.
This means that the losses from 2022 can only be considered for carryforward until the end of 2027, and only if EVN's business results in 2023-2027 are profitable will the losses from 2022 be carried forward to offset them. However, since EVN continued to incur losses in 2023, not only were the losses from 2023 not carried forward to 2023, but additional losses were incurred.
It is expected that the losses from 2023 will be considered for carryforward and allocation until the end of 2028, provided that EVN's business results for the years 2023-2027 generate sufficient profits to offset the losses from 2022 and 2023.
Therefore, EVN believes that retail electricity prices need to be subsidized promptly to recover sufficient costs, contributing to the preservation and development of the company's business capital, and reducing the accumulated losses from EVN's production and business activities.
This has enabled EVN to have the resources to invest in the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, the Quang Trach power plant complex, offshore wind power plants, expanded hydropower plants, and other power sources assigned to EVN by the Government and ministries.
The allocation of losses has a minor impact.
In the draft amendment to Decree 72, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes adding a regulation regarding other costs not included in electricity prices – those that are permitted to be included but not fully accounted for – which will be allocated to the annual retail electricity price.
Assessing the impact of the decree amendment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that in the context of favorable hydrological conditions during the first seven months of this year, EVN's business performance has been more positive.
Therefore, adding the provision regarding other related costs that caused EVN to incur losses in 2022-2023 to the draft decree, if enacted, means that electricity pricing in the last months of 2025 is not expected to affect the current average retail electricity price after the calculation and updating of the allocation of other costs.
In cases where allocation is necessary, the impact is considered minor, possibly ranging from 2% to 5%, falling under EVN's jurisdiction.
EVN estimates that adjusting retail electricity prices in October 2025 would increase the CPI by approximately 0.03 percentage points. However, adjusting electricity prices within a small range helps ensure the rights and interests of both electricity companies and customers.
According to the plan, the decree is expected to be issued in September 2025.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bo-cong-thuong-viec-phan-bo-khoan-lo-cua-evn-anh-huong-nho-du-kien-chi-tang-2-5-gia-dien-20250907105606515.htm
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