I. Legal and practical basis for the promulgation of the Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15
The Electricity Law No. 28/2004/QH11, through four amendments and supplements in 2012, 2018, 2022, and 2023, has provided the legal basis for the effective implementation of electricity activities over the past nearly 20 years, contributing to socio-economic development, ensuring national energy security, and meeting the ever-increasing electricity demand nationwide.
However, after the Electricity Law of 2004 came into effect, many new policies and guidelines of the Party and State related to the national energy development of Vietnam (including the electricity sector) were issued, specifically:
- Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW dated February 11, 2020, of the Politburo on the orientation of the national energy development strategy of Vietnam until 2030, with a vision to 2045;
- Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW dated August 20, 2019, of the Politburo on the orientation for perfecting institutions and policies, and improving the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment cooperation until 2030;
- The Eighth Conference of the Central Committee of the 11th Party Congress issued Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW on October 22, 2018, on the Strategy for Sustainable Development of Vietnam's Marine Economy until 2030, with a vision to 2045;
- Resolution No. 99/NQ-CP dated August 30, 2021, of the Government promulgates the Government's Action Program for the 2021-2026 term to implement the National Assembly's Resolution on the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2021-2025, and to implement Resolution No. 16/2021/QH15 dated July 27, 2021, of the National Assembly on the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2021-2025. The Resolution stated: "Strengthen the review, supplementation, and improvement of legal regulations that are no longer appropriate, overlapping, incomplete, or problematic, especially regarding planning, investment, business, land, finance, budget, public assets, taxes, etc., in the direction that whichever level or sector has problems, that level or sector should proactively and actively amend and improve them; ....".
- Resolution No. 937/NQ-UBTVQH15 dated December 13, 2023, of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on thematic supervision of the implementation of policies and laws on energy development in the period 2016-2021, set out tasks and solutions regarding the need for a suitable electricity pricing mechanism in the import and export of electricity with countries in the region and "timely adjustment of retail electricity prices according to actual fluctuations of input parameters such as raw material prices, exchange rates, ensuring macroeconomic stability, social welfare, while compensating for reasonable costs and profits to preserve the business capital of enterprises, especially promoting competition in the power generation sector; shortening the time between electricity price adjustments".
- Conclusion No. 76-KL/TW dated April 24, 2024, of the Politburo (confidential document) on the implementation of Resolution No. 41-NQ/TW dated July 23, 2015, of the Politburo on the strategic orientation for the development of Vietnam's oil and gas industry until 2025, with a vision to 2035, and some orientations for the new period.
In addition, the regional and global context has undergone many changes, especially after the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).
Furthermore, the practical implementation of electricity laws reveals several issues that the current Electricity Law does not address, requiring amendments and additions to meet the objectives of implementing the Party's policies on the energy sector in general and electricity in particular, especially the goal of ensuring national energy security, strengthening the division of responsibilities and decentralization, improving the effectiveness of state management of electricity, promptly adjusting social relations arising in the practical operation and use of electricity, and resolving some obstacles in the implementation of the Electricity Law to improve the efficiency of state management, such as electricity development planning, encouraging the development of renewable and new energy sources; electricity operating conditions; electricity pricing according to market mechanisms and electricity trading activities ensuring the development orientation of the electricity market; and the management and operation of the electricity system…
Therefore, amending the Electricity Law is necessary to ensure the following requirements are met:
- Fully and comprehensively institutionalize the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's policies;
- Creating conditions for the development of power sources and grids to meet the nation's ever-increasing electricity demand, promote socio-economic development, and contribute to national defense, security, and energy security;
- Enhancing transparency in electricity operations, aiming to build a complete competitive retail electricity market, with a focus on adjusting electricity pricing mechanisms according to market principles with state regulation;
- Addressing and resolving limitations and obstacles in the legal regulations on electricity, while simultaneously not legitimizing violations in the electricity sector;
- Implement reforms aimed at improving effectiveness and efficiency, decentralizing power, clearly defining functions and responsibilities, and reducing the number of administrative layers in the state management of electricity.
II. New, prominent, and key contents of the Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15
On November 30, 2024, at its 8th session, the 15th National Assembly voted to pass the amended Electricity Law.
The Electricity Law comprises 9 Chapters and 81 Articles, specifically as follows:
- Chapter I: General Provisions, comprising 9 Articles (from Article 1 to Article 9). The main new content is:
+ Add content to Article 3 regarding the application of the Electricity Law to the authority to approve investment policies for electricity projects, specific regulations on investment and construction of emergency electricity projects and works, selection of investors for electricity business investment projects, and regulations on offshore wind power development;
+ Added many new definitions in Article 4 (Explanation of Terms) such as: hydropower plant safety, electrical safety, avoided cost tariff, electricity price cross-subsidization, voltage level, avoided costs, ancillary services, power projects, renewable energy, new energy, self-produced and self-consumed electricity, definitions of price and contract, etc.
+ Supplement the contents of Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW in Article 5: State policy on electricity development;
+ Supplementing regulations on the application of science and technology and the development of the manufacturing industry in the electricity sector;
- Chapter II: Power development planning, power supply network development plan and investment in power projects, consists of 10 articles (from Article 10 to Article 19). The new content is:
+ Supplementing regulations on: Implementation plans for power development planning, implementation plans for provincial planning including content on power supply network development plans; supplementing regulations on investment policies for power projects; investment in the construction of emergency power projects and works; contracts for power plant projects invested under the public-private partnership method using the build-operate-transfer contract type; selection of investors for power business investment projects; bidding to select investors for power business investment projects;
+ Amend general regulations on: investment in power project construction; electricity development in rural areas, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions;
+ Abolish regulations on the preparation, appraisal, approval, publication, implementation, and adjustment of power development plans; costs of preparing, appraising, approving, publishing, adjusting, and evaluating the implementation of power development plans; and land use for power projects.
- Chapter III: Development of Renewable Energy and New Energy, consists of 2 sections and 10 articles as follows:
Section 1. Regulations on renewable energy and new energy sources, comprising 6 articles (from Article 20 to Article 25). This is entirely new content in the 2024 Electricity Law, which stipulates general regulations on the development of renewable energy and new energy sources; basic surveys of renewable energy and new energy resources; development of self-produced and self-consumed electricity from renewable and new energy sources; renovation, repair, and replacement of equipment in renewable energy and new energy power plants; and dismantling of structures belonging to renewable energy and new energy projects.
Section 2. Regulations on offshore wind power development, comprising 4 articles (from Article 26 to Article 29). This is entirely new content in the 2024 Electricity Law, which includes general regulations on offshore wind power development; project surveys; approval or decision on investment policy for offshore wind power projects; and selection of investors for offshore wind power projects.
- Chapter IV: Electricity Operation Licenses, comprising 8 Articles (from Article 30 to Article 37): This chapter supplements several principles for granting electricity operation licenses in accordance with the practical situation in the electricity sector and clearly defines cases for revoking electricity operation licenses; eliminates administrative procedures for granting electricity operation licenses in the consulting sector; and assigns the Government to provide detailed regulations on several aspects related to granting electricity operation licenses, such as conditions for granting each type of license; procedures for granting and revoking licenses, etc.
- Chapter V: Competitive electricity market and electricity trading, consists of 3 sections and 15 articles as follows:
Section 1. Competitive electricity market, comprising 6 Articles (from Article 38 to Article 43), which includes additional regulations on the temporary suspension and restoration of spot electricity market operations within competitive electricity markets at various levels;
Section 2. Electricity purchase and sale contracts and electricity service contracts, comprising 6 articles (from Article 44 to Article 49); which adds regulations on electricity forward contracts, electricity purchase or sale option contracts, and electricity futures contracts; and also adds requirements for grid interconnection with foreign countries through the national power system;
Section 3. Electricity prices and electricity service prices, comprising 3 Articles (from Article 50 to Article 52), amends and supplements several principles on electricity pricing for types such as small renewable energy power plants, renewable energy projects combined with investment in electricity storage systems; it also adds guidance methods and pricing forms for transmission grids built by non-state economic entities to encourage non-state economic entities to participate in the electricity transmission sector and adds a two-component electricity pricing mechanism (capacity price, energy price).
- Chapter VI: National Power System Dispatch and Operation, comprising 5 Articles (from Article 53 to Article 57). New content includes the addition of principles and requirements to ensure transparency and fairness in the dispatch and operation of the national power system; the addition of regulations on electricity demand management to improve efficiency in electricity use; and, in particular, the addition of entrusting the Government with the authority to regulate cases of emergency situations that seriously threaten the ability to ensure electricity supply, and entrusting the Minister of Industry and Trade with the authority to decide on the mobilization of power plants to ensure electricity supply security in such situations.
- Chapter VII: Rights and obligations of electricity companies and electricity customers, comprising 9 articles (from Article 58 to Article 66); in which, the rights and obligations of electricity companies granted electricity operation licenses and the rights and obligations of electricity market transaction operators are added, while the rights and obligations of specialized electricity consulting units are removed;
- Chapter VIII: Protection of power infrastructure and safety in the power sector, consists of 2 sections and 12 articles as follows:
Section 1. Protection of power infrastructure and electrical safety, comprising 8 Articles (from Article 67 to Article 74) and Section 2. Safety of hydropower plants, comprising 4 Articles (from Article 75 to Article 78); including amendments and additions to some provisions regarding the authority of the Minister of Industry and Trade in regulations on the protection of overhead power lines; additions to the responsibilities of the investor or the unit managing and operating the power plant in the general regulations on electrical safety; amendments and additions to some safety provisions in power generation; power transmission; power distribution; electricity use for production; electricity use for living and services; safety in rural, mountainous, border, and island areas; additions to general regulations on electrical safety; technical safety inspection of electrical equipment and devices; and the addition of a separate section on the safety of hydropower plants.
- Chapter IX: Implementing Provisions, comprising 3 Articles (from Article 79 to Article 81), which includes amendments and additions to several articles and clauses of related laws such as the Construction Law, the Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment, and the Law on Prices. It also includes one transitional provision to ensure consistent application of the law and avoid legal gaps when this Law comes into effect and the 2004 Electricity Law expires.
III. Preparations for the implementation of the Electricity Law No. 61/2024/QH15
The Electricity Law will take effect from February 1, 2025. Immediately after being approved by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade continued to closely coordinate with the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment in reviewing the draft Law for submission to the Chairman of the National Assembly for signing and promulgation. Immediately after the Chairman of the National Assembly signed and certified the Law, the Ministry of Industry and Trade closely coordinated with the Office of the President to organize a solemn and effective ceremony to announce Presidential Order No. 31/2024/L-CTN dated December 2, 2024.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recognizes the urgency of implementing measures to enforce the Electricity Law so that the Law can be put into practice as soon as possible, promptly addressing the most fundamental issues/bottlenecks currently facing the country.
Firstly, regarding the development and submission to competent authorities/issuance under their authority of the Plan for the Implementation of the Electricity Law.
In line with the directives of the Party and Government leaders in decisively addressing institutional bottlenecks and ensuring strict adherence to the principle of "running while queuing" for the goal of ensuring national energy security, on December 2, 2024, the Minister of Industry and Trade reported to the Prime Minister on the issuance of the Plan for implementing the amended Electricity Law.
Accordingly, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1544/QD-TTg dated December 11, 2024, on the Plan for implementing the Electricity Law. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also promptly proposed and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice to submit the List of documents detailing the Electricity Law in Decision No. 1610/QD-TTg dated December 19, 2024, which promulgates the List and assigns the lead agency to draft documents detailing the implementation of laws and resolutions passed by the 15th National Assembly at its 8th session.
In addition, in implementation of Decision No. 1544/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Industry and Trade issued Decision No. 3334/QD-BCT dated December 17, 2024, on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's plan for implementing the Electricity Law.
Secondly, implement the tasks outlined in the Decisions promulgating the Plan for the Implementation of the Electricity Law.
Based on Decision No. 1544/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, the main measures that need to be focused on to organize the implementation of the Electricity Law include: (i) improving institutions and policies; (ii) information dissemination, public awareness campaigns, and legal education.
a. Regarding the improvement of institutions and policies
The guiding principle of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the understanding of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is that perfecting institutions and policies, especially detailed regulations for the implementation of the Law, is a top priority that must be done immediately. To accelerate the implementation of the Law, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposed to the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1544/QD-TTg the issuance of three guiding principles to ensure that the drafting of detailed regulations follows a streamlined procedure while maximizing the quality of the documents and the feasibility of applying the regulations, specifically:
- Firstly, ensure that the opinions of those directly affected by the document are taken into account;
- Secondly, closely adhere to the spirit and guiding principles of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister in the process of drafting and promulgating the Electricity Law;
- Thirdly, ensure maximum retention of existing regulations that are "mature," "clear," and have been implemented stably and effectively in the past; ensure the maintenance and development of breakthrough policies and regulations recently issued by the Government, in a way that updates the legal basis and new provisions of the Electricity Law.
According to the assignment of the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1610/QD-TTg, the amended Electricity Law will have 29 detailed regulations with a deadline for submission in January 2025, including: 7 Government Decrees, 2 Prime Minister's Decisions, and 20 Circulars.
Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has established drafting committees, editorial teams, and drafting groups for all detailed regulations, with the participation of relevant ministries and agencies, and those affected by the documents. They are also responsible for drafting guidance documents. The Ministry's leadership has directed and chaired meetings of the drafting committees, editorial teams, and drafting groups. Currently, most draft decrees have received feedback from the drafting committees, been publicly posted on the Ministry's electronic portal for public comment, and have been submitted in writing to relevant ministries, agencies, localities, and affected parties.
Although the Government is currently implementing Plan No. 141/KH-BCĐTKNQ18 dated December 6, 2024, of the Steering Committee on summarizing the implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW, in order to ensure the work progresses regularly and continuously, the Minister of Industry and Trade has directed relevant units under the Ministry to focus maximum resources and time on drafting and compiling opinions, and will soon send it to the Ministry of Justice for appraisal before submitting it to the Government and the Prime Minister as prescribed.
b. Carrying out the work of disseminating and popularizing the law.
- Regarding the dissemination and popularization of the Law
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed its specialized units to develop and compile informational materials and publications, disseminate and promote the content of the Electricity Law in diverse forms (video clips, leaflets, other publications, etc.) for consistent use by relevant agencies and organizations nationwide.
In the near future, the Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to organize a conference to disseminate information about the Electricity Law to officials and civil servants involved in advising and managing state affairs related to electricity at central agencies and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has requested its media outlets to intensify efforts in disseminating information about the new provisions of the Law, ensuring timely dissemination of the new and groundbreaking content of the Electricity Law to a wide audience of citizens and businesses. To date, hundreds of news articles and reports publicizing the new and groundbreaking policies of the Electricity Law have been published on official websites and online newspapers, contributing to providing information and creating a new impetus for a movement to promote investment and construction in the electricity sector, thus contributing to achieving national energy security goals.
Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/phat-trien-nang-luong/gioi-thieu-luat-dien-luc-so-61-2024-qh15.html
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