Ministry proposes new electricity tariff calculation method

The ministry is consulting with the relevant ministries and agencies on the proposal to complete a draft prime ministerial decision on the retail electricity tariffs, the local media reported.

Monthly household power consumption should be divided into five brackets: 0-100, 101-200, 201-400, 401-700 and 700 kilowatt hours (kWh) or above.

With the five-bracket pricing scheme, the ministry has drawn up two scenarios. In the first scenario, the minimal consumption of 0-100 kWh per month would be subject to a tariff of VND1,549 per kWh, while the next level would be VND1,858. Then, it would surge to VND2,340, VND2,701 and VND3,105 for the next three levels.

In the second scenario, the respective tariffs for the five brackets would be VND1,549, VND1,878, VND2,431, VND2,701 and VND2,878 per kWh.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed choosing the first scenario as it would help maintain or reduce the electricity bills of 98.2% of households with low consumption.

The ministry had earlier suggested using brackets one, three, four and five.

With one bracket, the electricity price would be VND1,897 per kWh. Households consuming upward of 201 kWh will see their monthly electricity bills dropping by VND8,000 to VND330,000 each.

Meanwhile, the electricity bills of each household using 200 kWh of electricity or less would increase by VND17,000-36,000 per month.

With the second option, residential power consumption will be divided into three brackets: 0-100, 101-400 and 401 kWh and above.

Households using 301 kWh and above each month would see their monthly electricity bills falling by VND45,000-62,000 each, while those using 0-300 kWh of electricity would pay an additional VND4,000-30,000 each.

The ministry has also proposed another four-bracket scheme: 0-100, 101-300, 301-600 and 601 kWh and above.

Accordingly, households using 51-100, 201-300 and 301-400 kWh per month would have their electricity bills down by VND267-32,000 each. Meanwhile, those using 0-50, 101-200 and 401 kWh and above would have to pay an additional VND1,000-105,000 each.