Although the 5% increase in the price of power is within the law, EVN did not necessarily do a good job of explaining it to the public, said Chairman of the Government Office, Vu Duc Dam.
5% power price increase
During a government working session held on the afternoon of July 3, the latest power price hike was assessed as being a responsible decision by EVN, despite the fact they had claimed they would not raise power prices in the near future. The price hike has caused a feeling of uncertainty among the public.
Dam spoke in favour of EVN when he said that the company had followed all legal procedures before increasing prices. Under the Government's new guidelines, commodities such as petroleum, electricity and other essential goods will be established by the market, so as to encourage economic development.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and EVN were urged learn from past experiences in publicly reporting their accounting books and using more effective PR methods.
The Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyen Bac Son, suggested that MoIT pay more attention to public opinion.
According to Dam, the current power price is still lower than the production costs, which could be harmful to the economy at large, particularly for industrial sectors, such as steel lamination, which use a large amount of electricity. Indirect Government subsidies in these sectors could cause unanticipated problems, he said.
Minister Dam also urged the process of comprehensive plans to create a competitive power generation market be made a priority.
The Government has said that any price rises must carefully take into account their effects on the lives of disadvantaged people and other socio-economic factors.
“The Government is sympathetic to the plights of sections of the social and business community that are having a difficult time during these circumstances. Still, our main goal should be to best serve the entire nation," said a Government spokesman.