Việt Nam has outlined a programme to separate electricity generation, transmission, distribution and retail activities as it develops a more competitive power market. At a Ministry of Industry and Trade briefing on 7 October, Deputy Director of the Electricity Authority Bùi Quốc Hùng explained the proposed direction of sector restructuring. The announcement concerns plans submitted to the Government, rather than a completed transfer of assets or an immediate opening of the retail market.
Two programmes have been prepared: the industry ministry’s plan for restructuring the electricity sector and the Ministry of Finance’s plan for Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Government News reported that both were submitted on 15 September. The new briefing clarified how the authorities intend to distinguish network activities, where parallel infrastructure would be impractical, from generation, wholesale and retail activities that can support competition. Transmission and distribution remain natural monopolies under this approach.
The proposed direction includes separating the Vietnam National Power Transmission Corporation from EVN and placing it under ministerial management. Generation reform would continue the earlier policy of equitisation and state divestment from EVN’s generation companies. Authorities are also considering a national strategic generation corporation covering strategic multipurpose hydropower plants and future nuclear projects. It could initially remain within EVN before a possible later separation.
Distribution and retail would be separated progressively, including clearer accounting for their respective costs and, over the longer term, changes in organisational and ownership structures. Government News describes functional separation already undertaken within power corporations, while The Investor emphasises further gradual separation. Both accounts place the programme within a phased market roadmap. Neither announcement supplies a binding completion date for the proposed transmission transfer or guarantees immediate retail choice for customers.
For investors and industrial electricity users, the commercial significance lies in the intended allocation of network functions and competitive supply activities. Changes could affect future counterparties, cost transparency and contracting arrangements as subsequent measures are adopted. The authority stressed financial viability and risk-management contracts during transition. Businesses should therefore assess each implementing decision and their existing agreements, rather than treating the briefing as a new entitlement to buy electricity from any supplier. The programme is a material policy direction, with its practical effects dependent on approval and implementation.