Circular No. 09/2023/TT-BCT amends and supplements certain Articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014, issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade on implementing electricity sale prices, and Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT dated September 12, 2018, issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade on implementing electricity sale prices and Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT dated September 12, 2018 issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT

of the Minister of Industry and Trade dated May 2014 on implementing electricity sale prices

and Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT dated September 12, 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing some articles of

Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT

of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law

Based on Decree No. 96/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 29, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Electricity Law dated December 3, 2004; and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Electricity Law dated November 20, 2012;

Based on Decree No. 137/2013/NĐ-CP dated 2of the Government's Decree No. 104/2022/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2022 amending and supplementing certain provisions of related decrees concerning the submission and presentation of household registration books and temporary residence certificates when performing administrative procedures and providing public services; 10 Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2019/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2019 of the Government on assigning tasks, procurement or tendering for the supply of products and services using state budget from regular operating expenses;13 on taking effect and the Law amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Law 3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:enters into force and the Law amending and supplementing certain Articles of the Law 3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:"3. A pumped-storage hydropower plant is a hydropower plant that uses water storage systems at different elevation levels to store hydro energy and generate electricity, where water is pumped from low-elevation storage areas to higher-elevation storage areas during non-generation periods to store hydro energy and released through turbines to generate electricity when the power system requires it."

Based on Decree No. 104/2022/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2022 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of related decrees concerning the submission and presentation of household registration books and temporary residence certificates when performing administrative procedures and providing public services;

Based on Decision No. 24/2017/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2017 of the Prime Minister on the mechanism for adjusting the average retail price of electricity;

Based on Decision No. 28/2014/QĐ-TTg dated April 7, 2014 of the Prime Minister on the structure of the retail electricity price list;

At the proposal of the Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority;

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular to amend and supplement certain provisions of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on implementing electricity sale prices and Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT dated September 12, 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on implementing electricity sale prices

1. Add Clause 3 of Article 2 as follows:

"3. Information on place of residence is information determined in accordance with the Law on Residence and guiding legal documents for the Law on Residence."

2. Amend Clause 2 of Article 10 as follows:

"2. The electricity purchaser for residential purposes includes households using electricity from shared meters (determined based on the place of residence information of the household at the location of electricity use), applying the electricity selling price for each household using electricity according to the principle of a common quota of the electricity purchaser by multiplying the quota of each tier by the number of households sharing the meter."

3. Amend Point a of Clause 3 of Article 10 as follows:

"a) In cases where the number of people can be declared, every 04 (four) people (determined based on the place of residence information at the location of electricity use or the list of officers and soldiers confirmed by the unit leader for armed forces) shall be considered as one household using electricity to apply the retail electricity price for residential purposes;"

4. Amend Point a of Clause 4 of Article 10 as follows:

"a) At each rental address, the electricity seller only signs one electricity purchase and sale contract. The landlord has the responsibility to provide the place of residence information at the location of electricity use for the tenant;"

5. Add Clause 10 of Article 10 as follows:

"10. In cases of new electricity supply for residential purposes, changing the subject of the electricity purchase and sale contract, terminating the electricity purchase and sale contract, or changing the meter reading date agreed upon with the electricity user, the usage level of each tier will be adjusted based on the actual number of days in the meter reading period."

6. Amend Point c of Clause 2 of Article 12 as follows:

"c) The number of rural residential households after the main meter is the number of permanent and temporary residents determined based on the place of residence information at the location of electricity use within the supply range of the main meter provided by the electricity retailer and the quota specified in the electricity purchase and sale contract signed with the electricity retailer. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

7. Amend Point c of Clause 6 of Article 12 as follows:

"c) Information on the increase or decrease in the number of households (if any). If the electricity retailer does not provide all the required documents within the above time limit, the wholesale electricity seller may apply the wholesale electricity price for rural residential purposes at Tier 4: from 201 to 300 kWh for the entire electricity volume at the main meter. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to check and determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

8. Amend Point b of Clause 2 of Article 13 as follows:

"b) The number of residential households in collective housing areas or community clusters after the main meter is the number of permanent and temporary residents determined based on the place of residence information at the location of electricity use within the supply range of the main meter provided by the electricity retailer and the quota specified in the electricity purchase and sale contract signed with the electricity retailer. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

9. Amend Point c of Clause 6 of Article 13 as follows:

"c) Information on the increase or decrease in the number of households (if any). If the electricity retailer does not provide all the required documents within the above time limit, the wholesale electricity seller may apply the wholesale electricity price for residential purposes in collective housing areas or community clusters at Tier 4: from 201 to 300 kWh for the entire electricity volume at the main meter. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to check and determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

10. Amend Point c of Clause 2 of Article 14 as follows:

"c) The number of residential households in commercial-service-residential complexes after the main meter is the number of permanent and temporary residents determined based on the place of residence information at the location of electricity use within the supply range of the main meter provided by the electricity retailer and the quota specified in the electricity purchase and sale contract signed with the electricity retailer. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

11. Amend Point c of Clause 5 of Article 14 as follows:

"c) Information on the increase or decrease in the number of households (if any). If the electricity retailer does not provide all the required documents within the above time limit, the wholesale electricity seller may apply the wholesale electricity price for other purposes for the entire electricity volume at the main meter. The wholesale electricity seller may rely on the place of residence information in the national population database to check and determine the actual number of households using electricity after the main meter;"

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT dated September 12, 2018 of the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT.

1. Amend Clause 1 of Article 1 as follows:

"1. Supplement Point c of Clause 2, Article 3 as follows:

c) For urban areas and high-rise apartment buildings, where the investor has handed over the houses to customers but has not yet completed the procedures for transferring assets to hand over the power grid to the electricity industry for management: During the waiting period for handing over the power grid and while customers are using electricity, both parties purchasing and selling electricity shall base their agreement on the actual electricity consumption to determine the proportion of electricity subject to residential retail electricity prices and the amount of electricity subject to retail prices for purposes other than residential (production, business, administrative services) as the basis for applying electricity prices. For electricity used for residential purposes, apply the electricity price according to the general quota principle of the buyer by multiplying the quota of each tier by the number of households using residential electricity (based on the actual purpose of electricity use, purchase and sale contracts, handover certificates, information on household residence at the place of electricity use).

2. Amend Clause 5, Article 1 as follows:

"5. Amend Point c of Clause 4, Article 10 as follows:

c) In cases where students and workers rent houses (the tenant is not a single household): - For cases where the tenant has a house rental contract of 12 months or more and has registered temporary or permanent residence (determined based on the residence information at the place of electricity use), the landlord directly signs the electricity purchase and sale contract or represents the tenant to sign the electricity purchase and sale contract (with a commitment to pay the electricity bill from the landlord);

- For cases where the rental period is less than 12 months and the landlord cannot fully declare the number of people using electricity, apply the retail electricity price for residential use of Tier 3: From 101 to 200 kWh for the entire measured electricity consumption. If the landlord can fully declare the number of people using electricity, the electricity seller is responsible for providing quotas to the landlord based on the residence information at the place of electricity use; every 4 (four) people are considered as one household for calculating the quota applied to residential retail electricity prices, specifically: 1 (one) person is calculated as 1/4 quota, 2 (two) people are calculated as 1/2 quota, 3 (three) people are calculated as 3/4 quota, 4 (four) people are calculated as 1 quota. When there is a change in the number of tenants, the landlord renting out the property is responsible for notifying the electricity seller to adjust the quota calculation for electricity bills. The electricity seller may require the electricity buyer to provide residence information at the place of electricity use as the basis for determining the number of people when calculating the electricity bill."

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from June 15, 2023.

2. Repeal Clause 10, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2021/TT-BCT dated August 6, 2021 of the Minister of Industry and Trade amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade regarding the implementation of electricity sales prices.

3. During the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, organizations and individuals are responsible for reporting them to the Electricity Regulatory Authority for examination and resolution within their authority or report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for resolution./.