Renewable electricity pricing harmonizes interests: industry ministry

Investors of renewable power projects in Vietnam that missed the government's preferential feed-in-tariffs, or FiTs, should share risks with sector stakeholders to ensure balanced interests, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Speaking at the cabinet’s monthly meeting on Monday, MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said those investors should take that viewpoint in negotiating selling prices with state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

A total of 85 investors of these solar and wind power projects, referred to as “transitional projects”, had earlier raised concerns that they are facing bankruptcy risks because the ministry’s pricing frame was “too low”.

Hai said in creating the pricing frame, his ministry issued Circular 15 in October 2022 that stipulates methods to determine prices for the transitional projects. Based on this, EVN had reported to the ministry the calculation results.

With the EVN calculations, the ministry consulted relevant stakeholders, then issued Decision 21 on the pricing frame so that EVN and energy investors could negotiate electricity selling prices, expecting the transitional projects to be promptly commissioned.

The deputy minister said creating the pricing policy is in line with regulations. Citing international consultants, he said global investment costs for solar and wind projects are clearly reducing.

Hai said with the pricing policy in place, his ministry has asked EVN to rapidly negotiate prices with transitional project investors based on a risk-sharing and interest-balancing attitude in order to soon put them into operation.

In the final week of March, EVN said only one out of these 85 investors had applied to negotiate selling prices with the state utility.