The two-component electricity price schedule fully reflects investment and operating costs
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just sent a document to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) requesting to urgently develop a two-component electricity price mechanism, including capacity price and electricity price.
Analyzing the two-component electricity price, Mr. Nguyen Tien Thoa - Chairman of the Vietnam Valuation Association - said that many countries around the world have applied it, mainly for production and business customers, and in some places it has been applied for electricity. The two-component electricity price includes electricity price based on capacity and electricity.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is applying a one-component electricity tariff, which is an electricity tariff based on electricity. The single-component electricity tariff based on electricity mainly compensates for variable costs of raw materials. The two-component electricity price includes additional fixed costs such as asset depreciation costs, repair costs, salary costs...
According to Mr. Thoa, the single-component electricity tariff does not reflect the full impact on electricity production. But the two-component electricity tariff is the opposite when it fully reflects investment costs and operating costs, on the basis of which electricity consumers pay to ensure that investment.
Along with that, it also has the effect of sending signals to electricity users to know how they use electricity to adjust their electricity usage behavior effectively.
“I know that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has assigned EVN to research a two-component electricity tariff. I also had the opportunity to do research in Thailand and China. When electricity prices are adjusted, customers hardly complain because the fixed costs remain the same and transparent.
Currently, we are conducting a pilot study to evaluate its impact, to demonstrate the difference between the two options. Especially for consumers, they will have the opportunity to evaluate and compare between two options in terms of price difference when using electricity. I think we need to have such a pilot period to evaluate, summarize and widely replicate if it is truly effective" - Mr. Thoa said.
Electricity price has 2 components like telephone charges
Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc - Legal Department - Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) - said that the two-component electricity price is basically the same as the fixed telephone price, that is, a fixed amount called The monthly subscription fee, even if you don't hear anything, is called the capacity price. The second part is calculated based on the amount of electricity consumed, called the electricity price.
According to Mr. Duc, the two-component electricity tariff mechanism accurately reflects the cost to serve each customer, which is the cost of lines, transformer stations and electricity costs.
For example, he said, two electricity customers are a restaurant and a factory. The factory operates regularly 24/24, electricity consumption is stable. The restaurant only uses strong electricity during lunch and dinner. If the power output used by both sides is the same, the maximum capacity of the restaurant is larger, so the lines and transformer stations must prepare larger capacity and higher costs.
Thus, the impact of the two-component electricity price will reduce cross-subsidy between customers. Second, avoid customers who keep registering for large capacity and then don't use it.
For example, there is a factory that registers for large capacity and requires electricity to prepare lines and transformer stations, but the project is behind schedule and has not consumed electricity for many years. The costs of lines and transformer stations during these years were wasted. This cost falls on other customers.
Talking to Lao Dong about this proposal, Mr. Tran Viet Hoa - Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - said: International experience shows that most countries in the region and the world have Apply two-component electricity price. The application of two-component electricity prices will give the right signal to both electricity producers and electricity consumers to improve economic efficiency from the reasonable allocation and use of resources.
Applying the additional capacity price component (VND/kWh or VND/kVA) will encourage customers to use electricity effectively, contributing to improving the electricity load factor and saving electricity bills.
