Utility group can raise electricity price without government approval

February 24, 2016 | 02:50 am PT

State-run utility group EVN may be allowed to raise the average retail price of power by five percent without having to seek official approval from the government, according to a draft statement from Vietnam's Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister will set the band in which retail electricity prices are allowed to move, according to the statement, with the time span between each two consecutive price rises being at least three months.

EVN, the country’s dominant power distributor, said it would raise the average price this year to 1,651 dong (7.5 U.S. cent) per kilowatt hour (kwh), excluding value-added tax, from the average of 1,630 dong last year.

EVN increased its electricity revenue by 1,800 billion dong (US$80 million) in 2015, up 18.5 percent from the year before.

Power output in 2016 could rise 10.35 percent from last year to 175.9 billion kwh, including the electricity generated by EVN plants and purchases from domestic and foreign sources, state media reported EVN as saying its production plan.