How to apply two-component electricity price?

It is expected that from January 1, 2026, a two-component electricity price will be implemented, applied to customers who use a lot of electricity, before expanding to all subjects.

Illustration photo using AI technology - Made by: TUAN ANH

So what is the level of readiness of businesses and what are the necessary conditions to operate the two-component price mechanism to ensure efficiency and transparency?

Businesses are confused.

According to the direction of Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, prepare necessary conditions to apply the two-component price mechanism (capacity and electricity price) from January 1, 2026 for customers using a lot of electricity - with an average consumption of 200,000kWh/month and at 22kV voltage level (medium voltage connection).

These are customers who are subject to the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism under Decree 80 of the Government . Following the direction, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and the consulting unit are also completing the project on the roadmap for applying two-component electricity prices to submit to the authorities before September 15 as requested by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

As a textile and garment manufacturing enterprise exporting to the EU, Dap Cau Garment Joint Stock Company ( Bac Ninh ) consumes about 200,000kWh per month, so Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, the company's CEO, feels concerned about the two-component price mechanism.

Because according to the published information, Dap Cau Garment Joint Stock Company will be the unit that has to apply the new electricity price. In fact, although it has invested in a renewable energy system, at times supplying up to about 40% of the demand, along with machinery and equipment with the most optimal efficiency to reduce energy consumption, but with monthly electricity costs of about 500 - 600 million VND, Mr. Thang is still worried that applying the new price will increase input costs.

"We are concerned that applying two-component pricing will increase or decrease the cost of electricity, which accounts for a large proportion of input costs. There is currently no specific information on the applicable regulations related to how the two-component pricing will be calculated, what the formula is, and what components it includes, so businesses cannot yet assess the impact and have a response plan. Therefore, we hope to have specific information soon so that businesses can prepare," said Mr. Thang.

Although the monthly electricity consumption is less than 200,000kWh, Mr. Bui Thanh Luan, Director of Hiep Phat Electromechanical Company Limited (HCMC), is still worried about the new electricity price mechanism. Because up to now, the official information on the implementation roadmap, implementation methods, and specific calculation methods have not been given by the authorities but are only "referring to information in the press", in addition to the information milestone of pilot application from January 1, 2026 from the meeting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to Mr. Luan, the cost of electricity accounts for 6-7% of the production cost structure. Therefore, this is a factor that directly contributes to the competitiveness of goods and products, so it is necessary to soon announce information on the implementation roadmap so that electricity users can participate in giving comments and have a plan to prepare.

In addition, Mr. Luan also shared that since the 90-day temporary suspension of reciprocal tariffs by the Trump administration expired, the country announced the tax rates for other countries, and orders have been on a downward trend.

It is expected that from now until the end of the year and even early next year, the demand for orders will not improve positively, businesses will have to look for new replacement contracts, accept cheap orders, so they are very "sensitive" to fluctuations in electricity prices. Therefore, Mr. Luan hopes that the implementation roadmap needs to be appropriate and have early, complete, and clear information so that businesses can grasp and adjust their production and electricity usage plans accordingly.

Staff working at the Power System Control Center (Tan Binh Power Branch 2) 117 Pho Quang, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: HUU HANH

Must have smart electricity infrastructure

Meanwhile, many businesses are also concerned about the calculation method and method of electricity prices according to the two-component price mechanism. The deputy director of an electronic components manufacturing enterprise asked: Will the application of the new price mechanism increase or decrease electricity prices? "I understand that if the two-component electricity price is applied, businesses will have to pay both the capacity price and the electricity consumption price, instead of only paying according to the electricity consumption output.

There may be additional costs associated with capacity pricing because manufacturing businesses need larger power infrastructure than other customers. However, there is currently no specific information on the implementation policy, so we are still waiting to see how things go. We have also invested in high-performance, low-power-consuming machinery, but we are still worried that the new pricing mechanism will sharply increase input costs," he said.

According to information obtained by Tuoi Tre, the research project of the consulting unit from September 2024, to implement the application of two-component electricity price, it will be necessary to ensure synchronous metering infrastructure, data transmission along with a full legal corridor. Statistics from 5 distribution corporations nationwide, three-phase electronic meters installed are more than 708,500 meters for customers serving production and business purposes, so the technical conditions for applying two-component electricity price are confirmed to be guaranteed.

For customer groups under Decree 80, which are pilot enterprises applying the two-component electricity price mechanism, the number of normal production households eligible to apply this mechanism is nearly 6,000 households, accounting for more than 50% of the total number of production households and 70% of retail output.

Also in the draft roadmap for applying two-component electricity prices that the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently released for comments, this pricing mechanism will be applied in four stages including surveying, collecting data and proposing implementation plans, and assessing the impact on customers; from January 2026 to June 2026, it will be piloted on paper - issuing parallel invoices.

Then from July 2026 to July 2027, there will be an official trial including actual payments and evaluation of factors related to load changes, electricity usage behavior, customer revenue, and customer response. In the final stage, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will evaluate the implementation and calculate the expansion of subjects, applicable from August 2027.

Commenting on the above issue, Director of the Center for Energy and Green Growth Research Ha Dang Son said that in order to have an electricity market that is more competitive and transparent, and to implement a direct electricity trading mechanism, one of the important tools is to apply a two-component electricity price. That is, customers will register their monthly capacity and pay the corresponding amount to the supplier, like a telecommunications service package.

At that time, customers can choose both capacity and supplier and the system will be optimized; there will be no price ladder, subsidies, or cross-subsidy between customer groups. "To do this, the prerequisite is to have a smart electricity infrastructure, with an accurate power metering system and clear buyer, seller, and address codes.

At that time, people in the North can buy electricity from the Southern company. However, because our current infrastructure is not uniform, we can first pilot it in convenient places with ready infrastructure, then we can popularize the two-component electricity price nationwide according to a suitable roadmap," Mr. Son recommended.

Currently, electricity prices are still applied according to usage output - Photo: TRI DUC

How do countries apply the two-component electricity price mechanism?

Many countries have moved from a single-component electricity pricing model (based entirely on electricity consumption) to a two-component electricity pricing mechanism, to properly reflect the cost nature of the electricity sector and at the same time encourage more efficient use.

As in Spain, customers sign contracts for a maximum power output, which is usually limited by a fuse. If the power output is exceeded, the system automatically cuts off the power. The electricity bill therefore includes both the power cost and the electricity consumed.

This method forces users to carefully consider their actual needs, avoiding the situation of registering for too high a capacity without using it all, causing waste of resources.

Belgium (Flanders) also applies a similar mechanism, called "power tariffs". Customers pay partly based on peak power usage, the rest is calculated based on electricity. This calculation allows people to spread out their electricity usage, reducing the situation of sudden load increases during peak hours, which puts great pressure on the grid.

However, some countries such as Norway, Sweden or Denmark... have deployed smart meters early, allowing for flexible electricity pricing. Users pay a fixed power cost with electricity prices that fluctuate by the hour.

Academic studies also recommend that the two-component electricity pricing mechanism should have a reasonable balance, with capacity costs accounting for about 30-50% of the total bill, and the rest based on electricity. This ratio is enough to encourage customers to use capacity reasonably, but does not increase the electricity price too much.

The electricity industry must also improve the quality of electricity supply.

Mr. Bui Thanh Luan, Director of Hiep Phat Electromechanical Co., Ltd., said that the electricity industry needs to further improve the quality of electricity supply and invest in infrastructure to ensure efficient use of electricity for businesses. In fact, at Hiep Phat Company, due to the two production sites located close to each other, the company proposed to use two meters with two power lines, but the electricity industry still required "collecting" one meter, causing the electricity supply to be overloaded at times, causing incidents and interruptions in electricity supply. This affects production, forcing businesses to mobilize generators, causing additional costs and affecting orders.

"We are also ready to increase prices and apply new pricing mechanisms, but at the same time we must improve the quality of electricity usage, especially for manufacturing enterprises, which must maintain stability and continuity," Mr. Luan said.

People's concerns about electricity bills

With the formula of one-component electricity price calculated based on consumption output, especially for residential customers calculated by steps, electricity bills in recent months have increased dramatically.

Therefore, the cost of paying for monthly electricity usage is increasingly taking up a large proportion of family spending.

Many manufacturing enterprises with large electricity consumption are quite hesitant to apply the two-component price mechanism - Photo: P. SON

Why does my electricity bill increase even though my usage doesn't change?

Receiving the electricity bill for the past three months, Mr. Hoang Duc (living in an apartment building on Minh Khai Street, Hanoi) was shocked when the cost to pay was at least 1.5 million VND or more.

Providing his monthly payment history, he said that if before May 2025, the monthly electricity bill fluctuated between nearly 500,000 - 800,000 VND, then from June, the electricity bill jumped to more than 1.9 million VND and remained throughout July and August at more than 1.4 million VND. Compared to the same period last year, his family's highest consumption month in the summer was also more than 800,000 VND, the rest were mostly average at 500,000 VND.

"I was quite surprised when the amount of electricity consumed doubled, up to nearly 500kW (compared to just over 200kW before), causing the electricity bill to double even though the applications and time of electricity use did not change much," said Mr. Hoang Duc.

Similarly, Mr. Hoang Duy (living in an apartment in Ha Dong) said that in the past two months, the electricity bill has increased continuously, up to 2.5 million VND, while in previous months it was only around 1.3 - 1.5 million VND. Mr. Duy's family consists of a couple and two small children, who work almost all day, the children go to school and mainly use electricity in the evening.

Therefore, the nearly doubled electricity bill has caused his family to "eat up" more living expenses, in the context of increasing expenses. "My wife and I earn about 50 million VND/month, the education and medical expenses for two young children, and the family living expenses are also very large.

However, the electricity bill alone accounts for about 5%, although not too large, it is a sharp increase compared to the normal monthly spending, so we have to reconsider our consumption and use of electricity. In the case of the amount of electricity used increasing by only about 20-30% during the hot season, it is more reasonable, but nearly doubling will make our family have to review our spending and living expenses," said Mr. Hoang Duy.

Sharing the same concern, Ms. Hoang Duong (Tran Phu, Hanoi) said that for many years, her family's electricity bill usually fluctuated between 400,000 - 600,000 VND/month, the highest month was only about 700,000 VND.

However, in the past two months, the electricity bill suddenly jumped to nearly 1 million VND, even though her habits and usage level have not changed. The house is only 40 square meters wide, with basic equipment such as an air conditioner and water heater, and she works during the day, so the increase in electricity bill surprised her.

More burden of electricity bills

"The increase in electricity bills has caused the cost of living to increase significantly. Previously, the total cost of electricity, water, telephone, and internet for my family was only about 1 million VND/month, but now the electricity bill alone is almost at that level. With an average salary of 15 million VND/month, this seemingly small expense has a significant impact on the family's monthly spending balance," Ms. Hoang Duong added.

For workers like Ms. Tam Thanh (living at her private home in Xuan Dinh), saving electricity is a top priority. Therefore, during peak hot periods like July and August, Ms. Thanh's electricity bill only increases by about 200,000 - 300,000 VND.

However, with a combined income of around 10 million VND/month, the electricity consumption is usually maintained at around 1 million VND, which is considered a big burden. According to Ms. Thanh, thanks to the additional support from her children, she also has less burden on expenses. However, with the increased electricity bill, especially during hot seasons, Ms. Thanh has to consider her spending.

No errors found

According to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), through customer feedback and statistics from power corporations, in August, more than 3.2 million out of a total of 31.88 million electricity customers had electricity consumption in August increase by 30% or more compared to July (equivalent to a rate of more than 10% of the total number of customers).

In addition, EVN also received about 500 customer complaints about the high electricity bills in August, but has reviewed and clarified them to respond to customers. However, EVN affirmed that no errors were found during the review and that it is still reviewing and checking the specific contents of the complaints about the electricity bills.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ap-dung-gia-dien-hai-thanh-phan-ra-sao-391085.html