Deputy General Director of EVN: Changing the peak electricity time frame does not affect households

The information was given by Mr. Ngo Xuan Hai, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), at the seminar on ensuring electricity supply, on June 10.

Previously, peak hours were divided into two periods including noon and evening. But according to Decision 963 dated April 22 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, this time frame is changed to the evening, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (except Sunday), while off-peak hours are 0-6 a.m.

In fact, the new peak and off-peak hours have not been applied yet because we have to wait for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to amend regulations in Circular 60 on implementing electricity prices. In the draft amendment to this circular at the end of May, the Ministry proposed to immediately apply the new time frame for customer groups producing and doing business during this year’s hot season. The National Electricity System and Market Operation Company (NSMO) and EVN proposed to apply the new time frame in June.

Deputy General Director of EVN Ngo Xuan Hai said that the production and business customer group will be mainly affected by the change in peak – off-peak hours.

Households that use electricity for domestic use are not affected, but follow the current retail step price schedule. On the other hand, household electricity prices are currently the same, regardless of time frame throughout the day.

However, Mr. Hai believes that people limiting electricity use during peak hours is still beneficial for the entire system, especially when demand increases in the evening when solar power stops generating electricity.

In addition, Mr. Bui Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of Electricity (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that completely shifting peak hours to the evening will have different effects on manufacturing enterprises and the trade and service sector.

Specifically, for the industrial production group, the level of impact depends on the operating model of each enterprise. For example, garment enterprises organize production in two shifts, while some other units operate 3 shifts continuously, so the ability to adjust electricity consumption demand is also different.

Meanwhile, the commercial – service group has different electricity usage characteristics. Commercial centers often consume a lot of electricity during the day, especially during hot afternoons. As for restaurants and hotels, they consume more in the evening – a time that coincides with the new peak hour, so they may be more clearly affected.

In addition, Mr. Hung said that changing the time frame also affects the operating strategy of power generation units. With small hydroelectric plants with reservoirs, businesses can proactively store water at times when electricity prices are low. On the contrary, they can increase electricity generation during peak hours to optimize business efficiency.

From a business perspective, Mr. Vu Xuan Thoan, Deputy Director of Song Cong Diesel Company, said that the impact of the policy will not be too great for units that have organized production according to the three-shift, four-crew model because the total peak time remains 5 hours per day. On the contrary, businesses that do not operate continuously can re-arrange production time and take reasonable shift breaks to reduce electricity costs.

According to EVN representatives, the goal of adjusting peak hours is to clearly identify times when the system is under great pressure to encourage customers to review and shift electricity demand to more suitable times. This policy aims to contribute to ensuring operational safety and optimizing overall costs of the national electricity system.

Currently, there are about 1.25 million electricity meters of manufacturing and business enterprises applying the electricity price mechanism based on peak and off-peak hours. EVN will update the time frame configuration on the business’s electricity meter system. Due to the wide range of meter types, reconfiguration requires a large amount of resources and is expected to take several weeks.

The electricity industry will prioritize reinstalling meters for large electricity customers who have the ability to adjust consumption demand to promptly adapt to the next heat waves. According to Mr. Hai, when understanding the new peak hours, businesses can proactively adjust electricity use plans, improving production and business efficiency.