New miracle of the Industry and Trade sector in institutional improvement

Along with the 500 kV line 3, the Electricity Law (amended) has created a new miracle for the Industry and Trade sector in perfecting institutions with the spirit of "lightning speed".

Continuing the spirit of "500 kV circuit 3"

The 500 kV line 3 project has created a miracle for the electricity industry with the following firsts: Record-breaking construction time - less than 7 months for a difficult project; the most drastic direction and involvement of the entire political system, with the drastic direction of the head of the Government "only discuss, no retreat"; the largest construction volume, application of the latest technology in 500 kV line projects; mobilizing the largest force with more than 2,500 cadres, experts, workers, and laborers on the construction site along the line passing through 9 provinces from the North Central region and beyond. This is also the project implemented earliest in the Power Plan VIII.

During the process of drafting the Electricity Law (amended), Minister Nguyen Hong Dien held many meetings with relevant agencies. Photo: Can Dung

Continuing to spread the spirit of "500 kV circuit 3" which is "only work, no retreat", the Electricity Law project (amended) continues to be implemented in the context of rapidly increasing energy demand, the plan to implement the Power Plan VIII is at risk of being behind schedule due to institutional problems, the requirement of green transformation, reducing carbon emissions is a challenge for businesses to have clean energy sources to serve production development...

On December 1, 2023, the Government issued Resolution 203/NQ-CP, officially starting the journey to amend the Electricity Law. The Resolution requires the Ministry of Industry and Trade to complete the dossier and submit the revised project to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the October 2024 session, creating a clear and urgent goal.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien - Head of the drafting committee of the Electricity Law project (amended). Photo: Can Dung

Accordingly, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien was assigned the responsibility of directly directing the entire process of drafting this revised project. The event initiated a series of urgent and drastic activities to meet the requirements set forth by the Government.

Along with the work of completing the dossier to be included in the 2024 law-making program, during the process of the National Assembly Standing Committee reviewing and providing comments, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also proposed to establish a Drafting Committee for the amendment project. On February 21, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade chaired and coordinated with relevant agencies to begin drafting the draft law.

At the meeting held on May 30, 2024 of the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued Document No. 824/TTr-UBTVQH15 dated May 13, 2024 on the proposed Law and Ordinance Development Program for 2025, and adjustments to the 2024 Program. According to the document of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Electricity Law (amended) project was included in the Law and Ordinance Development Program for 2024 along with 7 other laws.

Vice Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Ta Dinh Thi speaks at a workshop to collect opinions on the draft Law on Electricity (amended). Photo: Thu Huong

Accordingly, the National Assembly Standing Committee emphasized: In case the draft Law is well prepared and the discussion process reaches high consensus, the National Assembly Standing Committee will coordinate with the Government to review and submit it to the National Assembly for approval at the 8th Session according to the procedure at one session.

New miracle of the Industry and Trade sector in institutional improvement

Faced with urgent practical requirements, implementing the Prime Minister's direction with the spirit of "only discussing and doing, not retreating", Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, in his role as head of the Industry and Trade sector - the drafting agency, Head of the Drafting Committee - held many meetings with the Drafting Committee and the Editorial Team and directed resolutely, focusing all resources to implement the law, ensuring the progress and quality of the draft when submitted to the National Assembly.

The Committee for Science, Technology and Environment in coordination with VCCI organized a workshop to collect opinions on the draft law. Photo: Thu Huong

If the 500 kV line 3 project was completed "lightning fast" with the participation of the entire political system from the Government, relevant ministries, branches, and authorities in the 9 provinces through which the project passes, the Electricity Law (amended) project is a demonstration of the determination and fierceness of the 47 members of the Drafting Committee, 136 members of the Editorial Team representing ministries, branches, professional associations, enterprises, independent experts, units, departments, and functional departments of the Ministry of Industry and Trade... with the close direction of the Prime Minister.

In order for the draft law to be implemented on schedule and with high quality, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien - Head of the Drafting Committee - directed the implementation method in the form of the Editorial Team divided into groups according to the revised content. Accordingly, the Editorial Team is divided into 3 groups including: Electricity regulation and electricity saving; Planning, investment in electricity and renewable energy development; Electricity safety and safety of dams and hydroelectric reservoirs.

Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy at the meeting to review the draft Law on Electricity (amended) on August 5, 2024. Photo: Thu Huong

The process of amending the law was very difficult with 6 groups of technical and complex contents affecting most aspects of economic and social life, including new contents for Vietnam and never verified.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has conducted extensive consultations with the public and business community. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has sent documents to 139 agencies and organizations for consultation. At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also chaired and coordinated the organization of 9 seminars and conferences in 3 regions: North - Central - South to disseminate and consult with experts, management agencies, industry associations, etc.

At the discussion session on the draft Law on Electricity (amended) on the afternoon of November 7, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien explained and clarified the issues raised by delegates. Photo: QH

The groups under the Editorial Board led by the Electricity Regulatory Authority, the Electricity Authority, and the Environmental Safety Authority have organized many group meetings under the Editorial Board on each topic.

The Minister of Industry and Trade, as Head of the Drafting Committee, closely directed and participated in most meetings of the Editorial Board to grasp the situation and provide timely instructions to ensure the highest quality of the law.

After the draft was submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee, members of the Drafting Committee and the Editorial Team, who are experienced in practice and management, almost "put aside" all work at work and at home to work with the reviewing agency to thoroughly review, edit, explain and clarify the issues raised by delegates to the reviewing agency.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy discussed before the discussion session in the hall about the draft Law on Electricity (amended) on the afternoon of November 7. Photo: QH

This is a huge amount of work with thousands of comments, many issues of a scientific, technical and quite complex nature, for example, the contents related to: Electricity market, electricity price, offshore wind power...

According to experts, normally, a new law project takes 3-4 years or longer to draft, and amendments take 2 years and must be passed through 2 sessions. However, with the Electricity Law (amended), the time from amendment to passage was less than a year, showing that the workload of the drafting agency and the reviewing agency, the National Assembly Standing Committee, is very large.

At the 8th Session, the National Assembly discussed and gave opinions on the draft Electricity Law (amended). 104 National Assembly deputies spoke in groups and 32 National Assembly deputies gave opinions (25 National Assembly deputies spoke in the Hall and 7 gave written opinions sent through the Secretariat). Many opinions of National Assembly deputies agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Electricity Law (amended) and basically agreed with many contents of the draft.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien explains and clarifies the issues raised by delegates. Photo: QH

It can be affirmed that, over the past year, the Electricity Law Project (amended) has been prepared very seriously; mobilizing all resources with a truly open-minded, listening and democratic spirit; making the most of the intelligence and contributions of experts, scientists, the business community, voters and people nationwide. In addition, there has been the active participation of central and local press agencies, industry newspapers... which have fully disseminated the content of the draft Law as well as enthusiastic opinions at conferences, workshops to collect opinions and right at the National Assembly forum.

With a sense of responsibility, efforts and close coordination of the agencies of the National Assembly, the Government, relevant agencies and organizations have carried out urgent but thorough and cautious work to develop and ensure the quality of the draft Law and it was voted and passed by the National Assembly on the afternoon of November 30, 2024.

On the afternoon of November 30, the National Assembly officially passed the Electricity Law (amended). Photo: QH

Along with the 500 kV line 3, the Electricity Law (amended) has made a new miracle when it was amended and passed in a short period of less than a year with 1 session. This has promptly created a legal corridor, removed policy bottlenecks, met the expectations of voters and businesses, and liberated resources for the development of Vietnam's electricity industry in the new era - the era of national development.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/luat-dien-luc-sua-doi-ky-tich-moi-cua-nganh-cong-thuong-trong-hoan-thien-the-che-362015.html