Circular No. 13/2025/TT-BCT stipulates the method for determining electricity charges to be paid in cases where the electricity metering device is inaccurate, out of operation, or lost.

CIRCULAR

(vi) Agreement on the amount of reserve left behind and the deadline for selling the purchased cash foreign currency to the authorized credit institution. determines the electricity payment amount in cases where the electricity metering device is inaccurate, out of operation, or lost

_________________________

Pursuant to the Electricity Law dated November 30, 2024;

Pursuant to 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; Decree No. 105/2024/NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2024 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 96/2022/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 26/2018/NĐ-CP dated February 28, 2018 of the Government on the Charter of Organization and Operation of Vietnam Electricity Corporation;

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

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular to regulate the determination of electricity payment amounts in cases where the electricity metering device is inaccurate compared to technical measurement requirements, the electricity consumer uses electricity during the time the metering system is damaged causing the electricity meter to stop operating, and the electricity consumer uses electricity during the time the electricity meter is lost as provided for in Clause 6, Article 48 of the Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15..

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular regulates the determination of electricity payment amounts in cases where the electricity metering device is inaccurate compared to technical measurement requirements, the electricity consumer uses electricity during the time the metering system is damaged causing the electricity meter to stop operating, and the electricity consumer uses electricity during the time the electricity meter is lost as provided for in Clause 6, Article 48 of the Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15.

2. This Circular applies to electricity retail units, electricity consumers, and related agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 2. Determination of Cases of Inaccurate or Non-operational Electricity Metering Devices

1. The process of detecting and inspecting inaccurate or non-operational electricity metering devices shall be carried out as follows:

a) When there is suspicion or discovery of an inaccurate or non-operational electricity meter, the electricity seller or buyer has the responsibility to notify the other party and cooperate in drafting a working record to document and resolve the matter. The electricity seller shall draft the working record in writing or in the form of data messages with the same legal effect as written records according to the provisions of the law for the electricity buyer to sign and confirm;

b) In case the representative of the electricity buyer is absent, the relevant laws shall be followed for authorization; if the electricity buyer uses electricity for living purposes, the legal representative of the electricity buyer according to the law has the right to sign the working record. If the electricity buyer refuses to sign the working record, the electricity seller must clearly state the reason in the record and obtain the signature of a local government representative or a local police agency;

c) In case it is necessary to remove the electricity metering device for inspection, the electricity seller must inform the electricity buyer to witness the removal and testing of the device. The removed electricity metering device must retain the seal of the testing organization. The electricity metering device and related equipment must be collected, packaged, and sealed (the sealing paper must have the signatures of representatives of both the electricity buyer and the electricity seller);

d) In case the electricity buyer refuses to sign the seal as prescribed in point c of this clause, the electricity seller must obtain the signature of a local government representative or a local police agency representative witnessing the refusal of the electricity buyer's representative to sign the sealing paper.

2. The working record must clearly state the time and place of inspection, detailed description of the current status and manifestations of the electricity metering device, and the reason for removing the electricity metering device (in cases where removal is required). In cases where the electricity metering device must be removed as provided for in points c and d of Clause 1 of this Article, after completing the removal of the electricity metering device and drafting the working record, when conducting the testing of the electricity metering device at the testing organization, all parties involved have the responsibility to witness the testing and verification of the electricity metering device by the testing organization. If they are absent from the testing process without a valid reason, they still must recognize the testing results.

3. In case the electricity buyer suspects that the electricity metering device is inaccurate, the electricity buyer shall comply with the following regulations:

a) Has the right to follow the provisions of Clause 5, Article 56 of the Electricity Law and the provisions of this Circular;

b) Has the obligation to pay the testing costs as provided for in point a, Clause 6, Article 56 of the Electricity Law;

c) Cooperate with the electricity seller to draft a working record to document and resolve the matter as provided for in this Article.

Article 3. Determining cases where electricity meters are lost

1. When discovering that the electricity meter is lost, the seller of electricity shall request the local police authority to participate, confirm according to the provisions of this Circular, other relevant laws, and has the responsibility to notify the other party, cooperate to establish a written record of work to record and resolve the matter. The seller of electricity establishes the written record of work on paper or in the form of data messages having the same effect as written documents according to the law for the buyer of electricity to sign and confirm.

2. In case the representative of the buyer of electricity is absent, authorization shall be carried out according to the relevant laws; if the buyer of electricity uses electricity for living purposes, the legal representative of the buyer of electricity according to the law has the right to sign the record. In case the buyer of electricity refuses to sign the record, the seller of electricity must clearly state the reason in the record and obtain the signature of the representative of the local government or the local police authority.

3. The record of work established must clearly indicate the time, location of inspection, and detailed description of the current status.

Article 4. Payment of electricity charges in cases where the electricity measuring device operates inaccurately, stops operating, or is lost

1. In case the buyer of electricity agrees with the seller of electricity to record the operation of the electricity measuring device inaccurately, stopping, or being lost according to the provisions of Articles 2 and 3 of this Circular, the amount of electricity charges that the seller of electricity must refund to the buyer of electricity or recover from the buyer of electricity during the period when the electricity measuring device operates inaccurately, stops operating, or is lost shall be determined by multiplying the amount of electricity energy that must be refunded or recovered with the retail electricity price currently applied to the buyer of electricity during the same period.

2. In case there is a backup electricity measuring device installed, the seller of electricity and the buyer of electricity may agree and unify to use the backup electricity measuring device to replace the main electricity measuring device to determine the amount of electricity energy bought and sold between the two parties during the period when the main electricity measuring device operates inaccurately, stops operating, or is lost. The amount of electricity energy that must be refunded or recovered in each case shall be determined according to the provisions of Clauses 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article.

3. In case the electricity measuring device operates inaccurately compared to the technical measurement requirements, the amount of electricity energy that the seller of electricity must refund or recover from the buyer of electricity shall be determined as follows:

a) If the time when the electricity measuring device operates inaccurately can be determined, the seller of electricity must refund to the buyer of electricity the excess electricity energy measured or recover from the buyer of electricity the insufficiently measured electricity energy;

b) If the time when the electricity measuring device operates inaccurately cannot be determined, the seller of electricity must refund to the buyer of electricity the excess electricity energy measured or recover from the buyer of electricity the insufficiently measured electricity energy during the calculation period of 02 consecutive billing cycles including the cycle currently using electricity but not yet reaching the billing date.

4. In case the buyer of electricity uses electricity during the time when the measuring circuit, the electricity measuring device is damaged or faulty leading to the three-phase electricity meter only measures one or two phases, the seller of electricity is entitled to recover the missing phase's electricity energy measured based on the average electricity energy of the operational phases determined by dividing the electricity energy measured by the electricity meter during the incomplete measurement period by the number of operational phases. The incomplete measurement period is determined from the time of damage or fault recorded in the electricity meter's memory or remote data collection system to the time when the measuring circuit, the electricity measuring device is replaced and restored to normal operation. In case the time of damage or fault cannot be determined, the incomplete measurement period is calculated from the most recent billing date to the time when the measuring circuit, the electricity measuring device is replaced and restored to normal operation.

5. In case the buyer of electricity uses electricity during the time when the electricity meter stops operating or is lost, the amount of electricity energy used by the buyer of electricity during the time when the electricity meter stops operating or is lost shall be calculated as follows:

a) The average hourly electricity energy of 03 consecutive billing cycles including the cycle currently using electricity but not yet reaching the billing date multiplied by the actual hours of electricity usage. The average hourly electricity energy is taken from the data recorded in the remote data collection system or agreed upon by both parties to calculate based on the actual power consumption of the electrical devices;

b) In case there is not enough basis to determine the average hourly electricity energy, the amount of electricity energy used by the buyer of electricity shall be calculated based on the average daily electricity energy of 03 consecutive billing cycles including the cycle currently using electricity but not yet reaching the billing date multiplied by the actual days of electricity usage. The average daily electricity energy is taken from the data recorded in the remote data collection system or agreed upon by both parties to calculate based on the actual power consumption of the electrical devices;

c) The actual hours or days of electricity usage at point a, point b of this clause are calculated from the time (hour, day) when the electricity meter stops recording electricity energy in its memory or the remote data collection system to the time (hour, day) when the electricity meter is replaced and restored to normal operation;

d) In case the time when the electricity meter stops operating or is lost cannot be determined, the actual days of electricity usage are calculated from the most recent billing date to the time when the electricity meter is replaced and restored to normal operation.

6. In case the buyer of electricity uses electricity during the replacement of the electricity meter, based on the unified written record of work established between the two parties according to this Circular, the amount of electricity energy used by the buyer of electricity shall be calculated based on the average power at the time of removing the electricity meter and the time of reinstalling the electricity meter multiplied by the actual hours of replacing the electricity meter from the time of removal to the time of reinstallation.

Article 5. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from February 1, 2025.

2. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, units responsible are requested to report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for review and appropriate amendments./.