The Rising Cost of Electricity: A Concern for Tenants.

Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has increased electricity retail prices by an average of 4.8%, to VND 2,204.06 per kWh, effective today, May 10th.

Since 2023, EVN has adjusted electricity prices four times within its authority, with an increase of over 17%.

EVN estimates that each household will have to pay an additional VND 4,350 – 62,150 per month.

With the price hike, consumers will have to spend more on each kWh of electricity, and the more they use, the higher the price goes, up to VND 3,460 per kWh.

Notably, tenants who have not signed a direct power purchase agreement with the power company may experience an even greater impact.

Ms. Thuy Linh, a tenant in Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, shared that she is currently paying VND 5,000 per kWh. “I’m worried that my landlord will increase the rent after this price adjustment,” she said.

When asked why she doesn’t sign a direct contract with the power company, Ms. Linh explained that she is unable to do so, and all decisions regarding electricity rates are made by her landlord.

“Every time there’s an increase in electricity prices, I worry. I only dare to turn on the air conditioner for a few hours at night, and my electricity bill is already over VND 1 million per month,” she added.

For industrial customers, EVN stated that there are approximately 1.98 million customers nationwide. After the price adjustment, each customer will pay an additional average of VND 677,000 per month.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy, Chairman of Loc Thuy Quynh Fram Cooperative in Vinh Phuc Province, said that the cooperative spends about VND 10 million on electricity every month for the production of dragon fruit rice noodles. The 4.8% increase in electricity prices will lead to higher production costs.

“I considered installing solar panels, but there are many challenges regarding capital and connecting to the national grid,” she said. Meanwhile, the cooperative does not want to increase the price of their products due to competition concerns.

A steel manufacturing company in Dong Nai Province shared that they spend an average of VND 1 billion on electricity every month. With the current difficulties in output, the electricity price increase adds to their challenges.

According to the Statistics Bureau, the 4.8% increase in electricity retail prices will directly impact the consumer price index (CPI) in 2025 by approximately 0.09%.

However, experts emphasize the need to control price fluctuations and prevent price gouging, as electricity is an essential input for production, directly affecting the CPI and indirectly influencing the prices of other goods that rely on electricity.

Price Hike: Has EVN Recovered from Losses?

At the press conference on May 9th, EVN did not provide specific information about their financial situation or currency exchange losses after the electricity price adjustment.

However, the results of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s inspection of EVN’s production and business costs, announced at the end of 2024, showed that the total production cost for 2023 was over VND 528,600 billion, equivalent to a production cost of VND 2,088.9 per kWh.

In 2024, EVN’s business results broke even, but they still carried tens of billions of dong in losses from 2022 and 2023. This amount does not include the VND 18,000 billion currency exchange loss on power purchase contracts suspended between 2019 and 2023.