Under the circular, all licensed power plants with the capacity of over 30 megawatts and connected to the national grid must join the market, excluding BOT (build-operate-transfer), wind power and geothermal power plants, those under industrial parks selling only part of their output to the grid or without a long-term selling schedule.

The players will include companies that buy and sell electricity, companies that generate electricity, companies that operate an electricity system and electricity market, companies that transmit electricity and companies that manage electricity usage.

Hydropower plants will offer prices starting from VND0 per kilowatt defined by weekly water prices. Thermal power plants will be defined by factors like specific consumption, fuel prices and start costs, starting from VND1 per kilowatt.

However, the ceiling power price of the market is now VND1,400 per kilowatt given the ministry’s regulation.

The ministry also asks the qualified power plants to apply to join the market and investors have the responsibility to complete an equipment system for connection, information and measurement system. 

The market is now under a trial run with 48 out of 73 plants taking part and the Government asks them to offer prices to the only buyer Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN). For payment, 95% of the electricity is paid as provided in the contract between power plants and the electricity trading company and the remaining 5% is paid according to the hourly market price.

Learning from the pilot model, power plants will be suspended from joining the market if they provide false information in operation schedules and turbine mobilization, deal with others before offering prices to increase market prices and affect power security.