The request follows complaints from major Vietnamese technology and telecommunications companies CMC and Viettel that different electricity tariffs are being applied to data centers depending on their location.

On September 15, the Ministry of Science and Technology sent a document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade seeking to resolve difficulties surrounding electricity pricing for data centers. It was the third time the ministry had raised the issue with its counterpart.

Technology ministry calls for uniform data center electricity rates

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, most power companies across Vietnam have inspected how electricity is actually used at data centers and signed power purchase agreements applying industrial electricity tariffs, in line with the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s guidance in Document No. 2818.

However, Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation and some of its subsidiaries have yet to follow that guidance and continue to apply the higher commercial electricity tariff.

They have also asked companies to pay the difference between the two rates and issued notices that electricity supplies would be suspended from September 15, 2026, even though telecommunications companies had made payments based on industrial electricity rates in accordance with the ministry’s guidance.

To ensure stable and uninterrupted operation of data center infrastructure, the Ministry of Science and Technology has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to direct state-owned utility Vietnam Electricity, or EVN, and its subsidiaries to implement Document No. 2818 consistently nationwide.

The ministry has also called for stable and continuous electricity supplies to data centers, asking utilities not to suspend or disconnect power so that businesses can maintain normal operations.

Higher electricity rates put digital infrastructure under pressure

Viettel and CMC have recently petitioned both ministries over Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation’s application of commercial electricity rates to data centers while EVN subsidiaries elsewhere have applied industrial rates.

According to figures compiled by the companies, electricity costs - already the largest component of data center operating expenses - increased by more than 50% over the first three billing cycles after the higher tariff was introduced.

The companies argue that the increase could affect the reliability and stability of data centers, which are increasingly viewed as strategic infrastructure for Vietnam’s economic and digital development.

The Communist Party of Vietnam’s Resolution 57 calls for greater investment in infrastructure supporting science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation.

It specifically calls for policies supporting domestic companies investing in and building data centers and cloud computing infrastructure, while also seeking to attract foreign companies to locate data centers and cloud infrastructure in Vietnam.

The resolution also identifies cloud computing and artificial intelligence as strategic technologies, calling for Vietnam to gradually master key digital technologies including AI and cloud computing and expand the use of AI powered by big data across important sectors.

In April 2026, the Ministry of Science and Technology sent its second document to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the issue, arguing that applying industrial electricity tariffs to data centers was also consistent with the principle of industrial power pricing set out in Clause 1, Article 7 of Circular 60.

Data centers are a critical component of digital infrastructure. Any disruption or suspension of their electricity supply could seriously affect information systems and a wide range of economic and social activities conducted online.

The ministry also stressed that electricity prices are a key consideration for foreign investors deciding whether to establish data centers in Vietnam.

Applying commercial electricity tariffs, it argued, would substantially increase operating costs and weaken investment returns, potentially encouraging companies to move data storage and processing activities outside Vietnam.

Such an outcome could make it harder to achieve the goals of Resolution 57, including supporting domestic investment in data centers and cloud computing while attracting international operators to establish infrastructure in Vietnam.

On April 22, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade subsequently issued guidance to EVN on electricity pricing for data centers following the Ministry of Science and Technology’s proposal.

Under the guidance, retail electricity prices are determined according to the purpose for which the electricity is used, pursuant to Point b, Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT.

Where the electricity buyer and seller cannot agree on the proportion of power used for different purposes, the industrial retail electricity tariff should be applied to a data center’s technical systems, in line with the Ministry of Science and Technology’s position.

Thai Khang