On September 7, 2025, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) took a decisive step in addressing one of the country’s most persistent economic headaches: the mounting losses of the state-run electricity giant, Vietnam Electricity (EVN). The Ministry completed and submitted the third draft amendment to Decree 72/2025, aiming to overhaul how the average retail electricity price is adjusted. This move, now under review by the Ministry of Justice, could reshape the way electricity pricing is managed and how state-backed losses are handled for years to come.
At the center of the draft is a proposal that has drawn both relief and scrutiny. The MOIT suggests officially incorporating EVN’s accumulated loss—an eye-watering 44,792 billion VND by the end of 2024—into the average retail electricity price. The rationale? To create a legal and financial foundation for EVN to recover losses from previous years, all while keeping the lights on for millions and ensuring the state’s investment in the power sector is preserved.
According to MOIT, these losses didn’t just appear overnight. The period from 2022 to 2023 was especially tough, with EVN reporting a cumulative loss of over 50,000 billion VND due to soaring electricity purchase costs and global geopolitical tensions. In 2022 alone, EVN posted a loss of 20,700 billion VND, which ballooned to 21,800 billion VND in 2023. Even as the company returned to profitability in 2024—with revenues climbing nearly 16% to 580,537 billion VND and a post-tax profit of 8,237 billion VND—the burden of past losses continued to weigh heavily on the corporation and the state’s coffers.
The draft amendment doesn’t seek to upend the entire pricing mechanism. Instead, it clarifies how costs—especially those not previously accounted for—can be gradually folded into the retail price. MOIT puts forward two main options for how these losses might be absorbed:
Option 1 would allow EVN to allocate direct production and supply costs not yet compensated into the electricity price, starting from the 2022 audited financial report and applying to subsequent years. This approach offers flexibility and gives regulators more control over the process. However, as reported by VTC News, some critics worry this could reduce incentives for EVN and its subsidiaries to tighten their belts and manage costs more efficiently, since losses could simply be rolled into future prices.
Option 2, on the other hand, would only address costs from 2022 until just before the new decree takes effect. This stricter approach, according to MOIT, would force electricity providers to sharpen their management practices and minimize future losses, with the ultimate goal of preventing similar situations from arising again.
But that’s not all. The draft also proposes including exchange rate differences and unsettled payment differences from power plants into the retail price, provided these figures are transparently reported in audited financial statements. The logic here is to ensure that all real, verifiable costs are accounted for, leaving less room for creative accounting or hidden deficits.
Despite the daunting numbers, MOIT is quick to reassure the public and businesses that these changes won’t translate into sudden, painful price hikes. Thanks to favorable weather and hydrological conditions in the first seven months of 2025, EVN’s business performance has outpaced expectations. As a result, if the decree is enacted as planned in September, the retail electricity price in the final months of the year is projected to remain largely stable—or, at most, see a modest adjustment of 2% to 5%. In fact, in a scenario where the electricity price increases by 3% from October, the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to rise by just 0.03 percentage points—a negligible impact, as emphasized by MOIT and reported by Người Lao Động.
This measured approach is no accident. The draft underscores the need for smooth, gradual price adjustments, in line with government directives to avoid sudden shocks that could destabilize the economy or spark public discontent. As the MOIT puts it, electricity pricing must be managed “according to a roadmap, avoiding abrupt changes,” to maintain economic and social stability and balance the interests of both enterprises and consumers.
Not everyone is convinced that these proposals go far enough. The Ministry of Finance has called on MOIT to direct EVN to provide a clear, detailed breakdown of its losses, separating those stemming from social welfare policies (like subsidized rates for vulnerable populations) from losses linked to core business operations. The Ministry also wants to ensure that losses resulting from non-power-sector investments are identified and treated appropriately. Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense has requested a thorough review of the specific causes behind the staggering 44,792 billion VND loss, so that the government can make fully informed decisions.
Transparency and accountability are the watchwords here. The draft decree mandates that all cost allocations must be based on audited, publicly available financial reports, with MOIT assuming full responsibility for reviewing EVN’s submissions and overseeing the price adjustment process. As the drafting agency put it, “The Ministry of Industry and Trade has sufficient resources, apparatus, and basic conditions to implement the Decree after it is promulgated.”
The stakes are high, not just for EVN and its state backers, but for Vietnam’s entire economy. The company’s accumulated losses have already eroded state investment capital, threatening the government’s ability to fund future energy projects—ranging from nuclear power in Ninh Thuận to offshore wind and major new thermal plants. By allowing EVN to gradually recover these losses through regulated price adjustments, the government hopes to restore financial stability to the sector and ensure a reliable electricity supply for years to come.
Still, the path ahead is fraught with challenges. As electricity prices are nudged upward, even slightly, policymakers must weigh the impact on households and businesses already grappling with inflation and economic uncertainty. The draft calls for careful monitoring of how price changes affect living standards, business costs, and the broader economy, with mitigation measures on standby if needed.
For now, Vietnam’s power sector stands at a crossroads. The government’s proposed reforms offer a roadmap for balancing fiscal responsibility with social stability—a delicate dance that will require vigilance, transparency, and, above all, public trust. As the debate unfolds in the coming weeks, all eyes will be on how these reforms are implemented and whether they can deliver the stability and fairness that both consumers and investors demand.
With the draft decree set for possible issuance in September 2025, the next chapter in Vietnam’s electricity story is about to be written. The hope, for many, is that it will be a brighter one.
