Amendments to Vietnam's Electricity Law are being designed to create the most favorable and transparent conditions for businesses to buy and sell electricity directly, while preventing legal loopholes and ensuring a competitive market that reduces monopoly barriers.

On June 12, a delegation from the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Committee for Science, Technology and Environment visited Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen (SEVT) and held discussions with authorities in Thai Nguyen Province on the draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to Several Articles of the Electricity Law.

The visit aimed to assess the practical implementation of electricity regulations and gather feedback for the committee's review of the draft legislation before it is submitted to the National Assembly at an upcoming session.

A wind power project can take up to three years to complete procedures

Nguyen Thanh Hai, Chairwoman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, said direct power trading is a major policy of the Party and State that should be codified in a transparent, stable and practical manner with long-term predictability and a balance of interests among the State, businesses and citizens.

She said amendments to the Electricity Law should consider expanding the scope of direct electricity trading while promoting a more open and competitive power market and supporting the use of green energy in production.

According to Hai, a review of the implementation of the 2024 Electricity Law highlighted a number of new institutional challenges despite positive results. These include issues related to power development planning, decentralization, administrative reform, renewable energy development, electricity pricing, competitive electricity markets and policies supporting the energy transition.

She noted that the direct power purchase mechanism remains a relatively new policy that requires further refinement. Politburo Resolution No. 70 on national energy security through 2030, with a vision to 2045, clearly calls for the effective implementation of this mechanism.

The policy is intended to expand customer choice, stimulate competition in the electricity market, encourage renewable energy development and strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy.

Hai stressed that electricity market reform extends beyond the power sector itself, as it is closely linked to the business environment, the attraction of high-tech investment projects, sustainable development goals and Vietnam's green transition commitments.

The proposed amendments aim to implement Resolution No. 70 by placing businesses and citizens at the center of energy market development while expanding customer choice and accelerating administrative reform in line with government directives.

Removing bottlenecks and outdated restrictions

Thai Nguyen People's Committee Chairman Vuong Quoc Tuan said the survey and consultation process was particularly important for industrial provinces such as Thai Nguyen.

He pointed out that investment procedures in the energy sector remain complex and time-consuming, noting that a wind power project can take up to three years to complete investment procedures.

In the context of rising electricity demand and growing investment requirements for power infrastructure, Tuan said it is essential to continue refining electricity pricing mechanisms to make them more transparent and closer to market principles while maintaining state oversight.

At the same time, he said government support policies for vulnerable groups and manufacturing enterprises remain necessary to ensure the sustainable development of the electricity sector.

Nguyen Duc Cuong, Director General of the Electricity Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the draft amendments cover decentralization in electricity management, simplification of business conditions and administrative procedures, and revisions to regulations concerning power planning, investor selection, renewable energy development, electricity pricing and electricity trading activities.

According to Cuong, the draft law has already been circulated for public consultation, although several issues still require feedback from ministries, local authorities and other stakeholders. These include power planning, the removal of investment policy approval requirements for electricity projects and pricing mechanisms for wind and solar power.

The draft also proposes limiting state approval procedures to four core areas: environmental safety, infrastructure safety, human safety and security of electricity supply.

"All other matters would be handled directly by investors in compliance with standards and regulations. State agencies would strengthen post-inspection mechanisms, allowing investors to seek opinions from Departments of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies while taking responsibility for their own decisions, instead of undergoing numerous approval procedures as before," Cuong said.

Tuan emphasized that the amendments should go beyond incremental changes and address long-standing structural obstacles.

"Revising the Electricity Law is particularly important in breaking monopoly barriers. Compared with developed countries, Vietnam's electricity consumption remains far lower. We need a more open mechanism for choosing and trading electricity, one that dismantles monopolistic structures and enables businesses to access direct power trading more easily," he said.