VIETNAM – LEGAL ALERT ON THE DRAFT OF THE LAW ON ELECTRICITY (AMENDED)
The National Assembly, under the Resolution No. 129/2024/QH15 dated 8 June 2024, decided that the Law on Electricity (Amended) will be submitted to the National Assembly’s review this October 2024 on the National Assembly’s 8th meeting. Thus, recently, numerous meetings between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and relevant stakeholders have been held to finalize the Law on Electricity (Amended) as the deadline for submission is approaching. In this regard, the latest draft of the new Law on Electricity consists of nine (03) chapters with 130 articles introducing new and amended regulations on Vietnam’s commitments on renewable energy. It is reported that relevant stakeholders (i.e. Petrovietnam, VBF, EVN) are working diligently with the MOIT to work out the last details of the Law on Electricity (Amended). The notable points expected to be included in the Law on Electricity (Amended) are:
– The State’s policy on development of electricity, including provisions on encouragement for development of renewable energy;
– Amended provisions on Electricity Operational License with clearer guidance on exemption, issuance and revocation;
– Specific regulations on ensuring the eletricity price structure with clear principles and roadmaps for electricity price reform;
– Mechanism to handle delayed power projects and priority regulations for investment in emergency power projects;
– Mechanism for planning, exploration, survery, investment, approval for offshore wind power projects and pilot implementation of offshore wind power project.
As the 8th meeting of the National Assembly will be held on 21 October 2024, it is expected that the drafting for the Law on Electricity (Amended) is in its final stage. We will follow up with the progress and keep you posted on this matter.
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Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Oliver Massmann at omassmann@duanemorris.com if you have any questions. Dr. Oliver Massmann is the General Director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC.