Why did the electricity bill in February skyrocket?

On March 3, on social networks, many people in Hanoi reported that their family's electricity bills in February increased dramatically compared to normal (in many cases, they doubled).

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Responding to this information, on the same day, Mr. Le Anh Duong, Deputy General Director of Hanoi Electricity (EVNHANOI) said that the reason for the high increase in February's electricity bill was because it combined two periods, January and February. The reason was that from February, EVNHANOI implemented a plan to change the meter reading schedule to the end of the month instead of the beginning of the month as before.

Specifically, previously, the meter reading schedule was the 3rd of every month, meaning that if the January meter reading was previously closed on February 3, from February it was switched to February 29. Therefore, the number of days for calculating electricity bills for this period increased from 30 days (January) to 57 days (the amount of electricity customers have to pay for both January and February). This is the reason why the electricity bill has nearly doubled compared to before.

An example of how to calculate EVNHANOI's January and February electricity bill

Although the electricity bill has increased, the actual benefits of more than 2.8 million electricity customers in Hanoi are still guaranteed, the calculation of each step is also adjusted according to the actual number of days of the meter reading period. Specifically, the electricity number to enjoy the electricity price of step 1 and step 2 has been extended from 50kWh (according to regulations) to 92kWh; similarly, step 3 and step 4 have also been extended from 100 numbers to 184 numbers.

Customers can check their electricity output, use the online electricity bill calculator to look up and calculate their monthly electricity bill. The amount of electricity recorded to calculate the electricity bill in the shifting month will be more than the electricity bill of previous months. The following months will return to normal, EVNHANOI informed Hanoi residents.

According to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), the change in the time for recording electricity meter readings is being implemented by EVN and has a roadmap for the entire period from 2023 to 2025 so that the time for recording electricity meter readings coincides with the solar calendar of each month, making it easier for people and management agencies to monitor.

EVN representative also said that the time to change the electricity meter reading schedule depends on each locality. Up to now, the provinces and cities in the South and Central regions have completed it, while some provinces and cities in the North are still implementing it.

VAN PHUC

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