Vietnam to raise electricity price by 15.28 pct

Vietnam will raise electricity prices by an average of 15.28 percent from March 1, a government official said Saturday.

Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had already given approval for the price rise and the ministry would issue a circular on the new rates this week.

The hike would bring average electricity prices to 1,241 dong (US$0.06) per kilowatt hour.

There would be regional price variations, as well as differences based on usage and industry, the ministry officer said.

Electricity prices are tightly controlled by the government.

The government aims to keep inflation at 7 percent or less this year.

The last time Vietnam raised its electricity prices was in March last year. The 6.8 percent hike brought average electricity prices to 1,037 dong (US$0.05) per kilowatt hour.

State utility EVN has said that although its power output is set to increase by 17.63 percent this year, there will be a serious supply shortage of between 3-4 billion kilowatt hours.

The anticipated shortfall in power supply is high compared to the shortage of 1 billion kWh in 2010.

EVN said the increased production will not be able to keep pace with an 18.3 percent increase in demand during the dry season alone. – Tuoitre

Tags: Vietnam electricity, Vietnam electricity market, Vietnam energy