Vietnam legislative updates on consumer and utility laws

Vietnam is undergoing legislative discussions aimed at refining consumer protections and utility regulations. Initially, the National Assembly focused on amending the Law on Consumer Rights Protection to establish compensation mechanisms for citizens affected by gas station fraud and inaccuracies in electricity and water meters.

Following these discussions, the government proposed amendments to the Electricity Law to modernize the national power sector. These updates seek to restructure pricing mechanisms by introducing time-varying retail rates—categorized into peak, off-peak, and normal hours—for residential customers when technical conditions allow. The draft legislation also aims to eliminate cross-subsidies between different consumer groups, following the direction of Politburo Resolution No. 70.

To encourage investment in power development, the proposed changes aim to ensure electricity prices reflect production and business costs. This would allow investors to recover capital, financial, and operational expenses while earning a profit ‘appropriate to the project’s risk level’. Additionally, the draft seeks to grant the Minister of Industry and Trade authority to approve wholesale electricity price frameworks, clarify regulations regarding the suspension or reduction of power supply, and expand direct power purchase agreements between large consumers and generators.