Current electricity tariffs are supporting the poor

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the current electricity price list aims to support the poor and people in difficult circumstances.

Participating in the questioning in the field of Industry and Trade, delegate Pham Van Hoa - National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap province said that recently, the situation of electricity supply for production and consumption has clearly improved, unlike in 2023 when there was a local power shortage that made people upset. This is a very good achievement of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and EVN.

However, delegates said that the current step-by-step pricing is not suitable for people's needs, especially step 1 has only 50kw for daily life. People consume electricity, pay money to EVN but are subject to an additional 10% VAT tax, which is unreasonable.

The delegate asked the Minister of Industry and Trade to explain this matter and at the same time recommended to the Minister of Finance whether it is possible to exempt VAT and raise level 1 from 50kw to 100kw for consumers?

Responding to questions from delegates, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the tiered electricity price list is a popular model in all countries to encourage customers to use electricity economically and efficiently.

Unlike other industries, the Minister believes that the more electricity is produced, the more it affects the environment. In addition, using electricity economically and efficiently will increase social responsibility in environmental protection, because energy is a large emission industry.

Regarding the current step-by-step pricing, Minister Hong Dien said that in Vietnam, according to Decision 28/2014, the average retail electricity price structure consists of 6 levels. However, implementing the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government has recently directed and the Ministry of Industry and Trade has chaired the amendment and supplementation of this decree. Accordingly, in the new draft submitted to the Government (submitted on the morning of August 21), the number of levels has been reduced from 6 to 5 levels and the first level has been increased from 0 to 50KWh to 0 to 100KWh. "Thus, the proposal of delegate Pham Van Hoa has been accepted and has been submitted to the Government as the delegate wished" - Minister Dien informed.

Regarding this, the “commander” of the Industry and Trade sector said that the goal is to support the poor, while also maintaining the support level for the poor and those in difficult circumstances from the state budget for the electricity number up to 30 numbers. From 30 until the end of the first bracket, consumers still have to pay according to regulations.

On the other hand, to gradually eliminate the unreasonable gap between electricity users in Decree 28, this amendment is also mentioning adjusting the price framework of production, business and daily life subjects to bring them closer together. Some production sectors will be adjusted to match the price list in the service sector as well as in daily life to ensure that there is no cross-subsidy between electricity users.

Previously, in the draft released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade at the end of last year, the distance between the levels was also redistributed, in accordance with the actual electricity usage of the people, and the price at the highest level (701 kWh or more) was over 3,600 VND per kWh (excluding VAT). The difference between levels 1 and 5 is twice, in order to be in line with the general trend of the world and to encourage economical and efficient use of electricity.

Tax issues in value added tax in electricity bills. Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc informed that tax is the main source of revenue for the state budget, reducing tax to deal with a field with large price fluctuations is unreasonable; recently, the National Assembly has reduced tax for businesses and business households (reduced 200 trillion VND). Regarding ladder electricity, household electricity has had regulations to support poor households and policy families; applying ladder electricity to households that use electricity economically.

Also at the question and answer session, delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong - National Assembly Delegation of Tay Ninh province said that voters and many experts believe that electricity price management has many shortcomings and this is one of the important reasons causing losses for the electricity industry in 2022 and 2023. Therefore, the delegate asked the Minister of Industry and Trade to tell him the best solution to manage electricity prices in the coming time?

Regarding the shortcomings in electricity price management, causing losses for the electricity industry, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that there was no such thing. At the same time, he affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as a state management agency, only performs three basic functions: planning and planning; building mechanisms and policies; and inspection and examination. The consultation on building mechanisms and policies, especially policies on electricity prices, has recently been carried out in compliance with current laws, especially the Electricity Law and the Price Law.

Regarding the solution, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also said that the Government has just decided to transfer the National Power System Control Center (A0) from EVN to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which will ensure transparency and fairness in the operation of the power system. At the same time, the Government has just issued a Decree on direct electricity trading for large electricity users; and is about to issue a Decree on encouraging the use of rooftop solar power... these measures will gradually make the electricity market more comprehensive.

Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/bo-truong-nguyen-hong-dien-bieu-gia-dien-hien-nay-dang-ho-tro-nguoi-ngheo-378649.html