Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BCT amends and supplements certain provisions of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on the implementation of electricity selling prices.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on the implementation of electricity sales prices

Pursuant to Decree No. 9/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Statistics Law;8/2017/NĐ-CP dated 18 the 8 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;17 /NĐ-CP dated March

Pursuant to the Law 3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:effective from December 3, 2004 and the Law amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Electricity Law on 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."

Pursuant to Decision No. 24/2017/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2017 on the mechanism for adjusting average retail electricity prices;

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,

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 21/2023/TT-BTTTT dated December 31, 2023 of the Ministry of Information and Communications on functions and technical features of the Administrative Procedure Handling Information System at the ministerial and provincial levels (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 21/2023/TT-BTTTT) as follows: Ministry of Industry and Trade issues the Circular amended and supplemented some articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on the implementation of electricity sales prices.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT dated May 29, 2014 of the Minister of Industry and Trade on the implementation of electricity sales prices (Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT) as follows:

1. Supplementing Point c Clause 2 Article 3 as follows:

"c) For urban areas, high-rise residential buildings, where the developer has handed over the houses to customers but has not yet completed the final settlement procedures to transfer the power grid to the power industry for management: During the waiting period for the transfer of 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 proportion of electricity subject to retail electricity prices for purposes other than residential (production, business, administrative and public services) as the basis for applying electricity prices. For electricity used for residential purposes, apply electricity prices according to the general standard of the electricity buyer by multiplying the rate of each tier by the number of households using residential electricity (based on the actual purpose of electricity use, house purchase contracts, handover certificates, household registration books, temporary residence certificates, or temporary residence confirmation documents issued by the local police authority)."

2. Amending the name of Article 6 and supplementing Clause 1a before Clause 1 of Article 6 as follows:

"Article 6. Principles for determining wholesale electricity prices and conditions for applying wholesale electricity prices 1a. Principles for determining wholesale electricity pricesWhen adjusting retail electricity prices, wholesale electricity prices for electricity retailers will be adjusted based on the current wholesale price minus a discount factor multiplied by the planned consumer price index (CPI) increase set by the National Assembly for the year of the retail price adjustment. For new wholesale electricity buyers who have not yet determined the current wholesale price discount factor, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will guide the specific determination of the wholesale price discount factor."

3. Amending Clause 1 Article 12 as follows:

"1. Wholesale electricity prices for rural areas shall be applied to rural electricity retailers (excluding the objects specified in Articles 13, 14, and 15 of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT and Clause 4 of this Article) for the quantity of electricity purchased measured at the total meter installed at the transformer station, regardless of whether the transformer station belongs to the electricity buyer or seller."

4. Adding Article 15a after Article 15 as follows:

"Article 15a. Wholesale electricity prices for markets

1. Wholesale electricity prices for markets shall be applied to electricity retailers in markets based on criteria stipulated in Decree No. 02/2003/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2003 of the Government on market development and management and Decree No. 114/2009/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 02/2003/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2003 of the Government on market development and management (regardless of the geographical location of the market).

2. Electricity retailers in markets are not subject to electricity prices based on voltage level as stipulated in Article 4 of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT nor to electricity prices based on time-of-use as stipulated in Article 5 of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT.3. Wholesale electricity prices for markets shall apply the retail electricity price for commercial purposes during normal hours at voltages below 6 kV as stipulated in Article 8 of Circular No. 16/2014/TT-BCT minus 10.6%."

5. Amending Point c Clause 4 Article 10 as follows:

"c) In cases where students and workers rent housing (the landlord is not a single household):

- In cases where the landlord has a lease contract of 12 months or more and has registered temporary residence, the landlord shall directly sign the electricity purchase and sale contract or represent the tenant to sign the electricity purchase and sale contract (with a commitment to pay the electricity bill from the landlord);

- In cases where the lease term is less than 12 months and the landlord cannot fully declare the number of people using electricity, the residential retail electricity price of Tier 3: From 101 to 200 kWh shall be applied to the entire measured electricity consumption at the meter.

If the landlord can fully declare the number of people using electricity, the electricity seller shall be responsible for providing a quota to the landlord based on the temporary residence certificate or temporary residence confirmation document issued by the local police authority; every four people are considered as one household for calculating the quota for residential retail electricity prices, specifically: one person is counted as 1/4 quota, two people are counted as 1/2 quota, three people are counted as 3/4 quota, four people are counted as one quota. When there is a change in the number of tenants, the landlord must notify the electricity seller to adjust the quota calculation for electricity bills. The electricity seller has the right to inspect and request the electricity buyer to present the monthly temporary residence registration book to confirm the number of people when calculating the electricity bill."

6. Supplementing Clause 9 Article 10 as follows:

"9. In cases where the electricity buyer incorrectly declares the number of people using electricity to obtain a higher quota than the actual usage, the electricity seller has the right to demand compensation and impose contractual breach penalties according to Circular No. 27/2013/TT-BCT dated October 31, 2013 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on inspection of electricity activities and electricity use, resolution of disputes in electricity purchase and sale contracts or any subsequent amendments, supplements, or replacements thereof."

Article 2. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from October 26, 2018.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, relevant units are requested to report them to the Electricity Regulatory Authority for examination and resolution within their authority or to report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for resolution.