On the morning of August 21, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien answered questions at the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) on thematic supervision and questioning from the beginning of the 15th National Assembly term.
Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) said that the current retail electricity price structure, in which household electricity is calculated according to 6 levels, is not suitable for people's actual consumption. For example, the usage level of level 1 (0-50kWh) is too low. "Does the Ministry of Industry and Trade have any solutions to amend the electricity price list to make it more suitable? Can we consider exempting 10% VAT on electricity bills to support people, especially poor households?", Delegate Pham Van Hoa questioned.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the step-by-step electricity price list is a popular model used by many countries because it encourages customers to use electricity economically. Unlike other industries, the more electricity is produced, the more risk it poses to the environment, so it is necessary to enhance responsibility in environmental protection because energy is a sector that emits quite a lot of emissions. In Vietnam, according to Decision 28 of the Prime Minister, the retail electricity price list consists of 6 levels. However, this price list has revealed shortcomings, so the Ministry has recently studied and revised it.
Implementing the resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and accepting the opinions of the National Assembly deputies, the Government has directed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to preside over the amendment and supplementation. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has just submitted to the Government a draft decision amending Decision 28, in which the calculation of household electricity bills is reduced to 5 levels, instead of 6 levels as currently. The cheapest level calculated for households using less than 100 kWh is 0-100kWh, instead of the current 0-50kWh to support the poor; the highest (level 5) is from 701 kWh and above.
In addition to reducing the number of steps, in this revision, the electricity price for each step is also redesigned according to the principle of minimizing the impact on households using electricity. Prices for customer groups (production, business, services, etc.) are also adjusted. This is to gradually eliminate unreasonable gaps and cross-compensation between electricity users.
The Minister said that the proposal of Deputy Hoa has been accepted and submitted to the Government. The goal is to maintain the level of support for the poor and people in difficult circumstances from the state budget at the electricity number up to 30. From 30 to the end of the first frame, consumers still have to pay according to regulations.
Also participating in the question and answer session, regarding the proposal to exempt 10% VAT on electricity bills, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that tax is the main source of revenue for the state budget, and reducing tax to deal with a sector with large price fluctuations is unreasonable. Recently, the National Assembly has reduced taxes for businesses and business households (about 200,000 billion VND). Regarding ladder electricity, household electricity has been regulated to support poor households and policy families; applying ladder electricity to households that use electricity economically.
In response, Deputy Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) said that people are charged for electricity with VAT included. Tax is a source of revenue for the State, people support the electricity tax collected according to the ladder price, but the Deputy suggested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance study reducing VAT by 10% for electricity consumers.
Delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong (Tay Ninh) said that voters and many experts believe that electricity price management has many shortcomings and this is one of the important causes of losses for the electricity industry in 2022 and 2023. What is the best solution to manage electricity prices in the coming time?
Responding, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that there is no such thing as the ministry managing electricity prices causing the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) to suffer losses. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is the state management agency advising on policies on electricity prices in accordance with current laws, especially the Electricity Law and the Price Law. Electricity prices are a stable commodity, EVN must buy input at market prices, but output must be managed by the state to stabilize prices and avoid inflation. As for any mechanism to prevent EVN from suffering losses, the upcoming amendment of the Electricity Law will contribute to solving this problem.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also said that the Government has just decided to transfer the National Power System Dispatch Center (A0) from EVN to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This will ensure transparency and fairness in the dispatching and operation of the power system. At the same time, the Government has just issued a decree on direct electricity trading for large electricity users; is about to issue a decree on encouraging the use of rooftop solar power... these measures will gradually make the electricity market more perfect.
Delegate Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran (Binh Duong) questioned that currently, the demand for solar power from households in the Southern region is very large. However, the State currently has no policy to purchase excess electricity from households to avoid wasting investment costs for solar power from households, while reducing consumption of national electricity sources.
Responding, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien informed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is advising the Government to issue a decree on encouraging the development of rooftop solar power. Accordingly, to encourage the development of clean power sources, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is studying a pilot project to sell excess electricity to the national grid. In addition, it must also comply with technical standards and legal regulations.
Delegate Duong Van Phuoc (Quang Nam) questioned the solution to overcome protectionism in market management?
The Minister of Industry and Trade said that in a market economy, commercial fraud is a characteristic. Recently, tens of thousands of violations have been handled and tens of thousands of billions of VND have been collected for the state budget related to commercial fraud violations. This is also a huge challenge for management agencies.
Regarding the fact that some market officials have a protectionist nature, the Minister affirmed that it is true, due to the nature of this job, market management officials have the authority and responsibility to decide whether to impose penalties or not. Due to this nature, the Ministry of Industry and Trade regularly rotates officials to avoid violations. The ministry will continue to advise and supplement policies and mechanisms, especially inspections and checks to handle violating officials. Dozens of officials have been handled and transferred to other jobs in accordance with regulations.
PHAN THAO
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