Circular No. 05/2006/TT-BCN guiding the procedures and formalities for soliciting opinions on retail electricity price schedules

CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES ON THE PROCEDURE AND PROCEDURES FOR SEEKING PUBLIC OPINION ON RETAIL ELECTRICITY PRICING SCHEDULES

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Pursuant to Decree No. 55/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry;

Pursuant to the Electricity Law dated December 3, 2004;

Pursuant to Decree No. 105/2005/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Electricity Law;

Pursuant to Decision No. 258/2005/QĐ-TTg dated October 19, 2005 of the Prime Minister on the establishment and stipulation of the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Electricity Regulatory Agency under the Ministry of Industry;

The Ministry of Industry hereby issues guidelines on the procedure and procedures for seeking public opinion on retail electricity pricing schedules (as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 31 of the Electricity Law) as follows:

I. PROCEDURE AND PROCEDURES FOR SEEKING PUBLIC OPINION ON RETAIL ELECTRICITY PRICING SCHEDULES

1. Retail electricity pricing schedules must be reviewed before submission.

2. The agency responsible for organizing the solicitation of opinions is the Ministry of Industry (Electricity Regulatory Agency).

In cases where retail electricity pricing schedules are independently developed and proposed by power units, the Electricity Regulatory Agency shall be responsible for reviewing and proposing pricing schedule options prior to organizing the solicitation of opinions.

3. The procedure for organizing the solicitation of opinions on retail electricity pricing schedules is as follows:

a/ The Electricity Regulatory Agency drafts and submits to the Minister of Industry the content for announcing the pricing schedule proposal and the plan for soliciting opinions on the pricing schedule proposal;

b/ Within seven days from receiving approval from the Minister of Industry regarding the organization of the solicitation of opinions on the pricing schedule proposal, the Electricity Regulatory Agency shall be responsible for:

- Publicly announcing on mass media the solicitation of opinions on the pricing schedule proposal.

The announcement shall include the purpose of the solicitation, the time frame and method of solicitation, and the address for accessing the pricing schedule proposal.

- Publicly publishing the draft pricing schedule proposal on the official website of the Ministry of Industry, at the headquarters of the Electricity Regulatory Agency, and at branch offices of the Electricity Regulatory Agency in various regions. The content of the public announcement of the draft pricing schedule proposal is specified in Section 6, Part I of this Circular.

- Conducting a broad survey of customers through online questionnaires on the official website of the Ministry of Industry.

- Sending the content of the pricing schedule proposal in writing to relevant agencies, organizations, and the Vietnam Consumer Protection Association.

c/ The period for soliciting broad customer opinions through online questionnaires on the official website of the Ministry of Industry is fifteen days from the date of public announcement of the draft pricing schedule proposal.

d/ Within fifteen days from receiving the written solicitation of opinions on the pricing schedule proposal (but not exceeding twenty days from the date of public announcement of the draft pricing schedule proposal), relevant agencies, organizations, and the Vietnam Consumer Protection Association shall submit their written comments to the Ministry of Industry (Electricity Regulatory Agency) for consolidation.

Beyond the aforementioned deadline, agencies that have not provided comments will be considered to agree with the proposed pricing schedule.

Within seven days from the end of the solicitation period, the Electricity Regulatory Agency shall be responsible for consolidating and incorporating all comments, refining the pricing schedule proposal, and submitting it to the Minister of Industry for signature and forwarding to the Ministry of Finance for review according to regulations.

Within seven days from receiving the written review comments from the Ministry of Finance, the Electricity Regulatory Agency shall incorporate the review comments and refine the pricing schedule proposal, reporting back to the Minister of Industry for signature and submission.

6. Content for publicly announcing the pricing schedule proposal:

a/ Basis for developing the pricing proposal;

b/ Reasons and necessity for developing the pricing proposal;

c/ Objectives and requirements of the pricing proposal;

d/ Specific pricing proposals;

đ/ Evaluation of the impact of each pricing proposal on the operations of production and business organizations, state budget, social life, and consumer income;

e/ Measures for implementing the retail electricity pricing schedule.

II. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, relevant agencies and organizations are requested to report to the Ministry of Industry for resolution.