Vietnam mulls electricity price cut to ease Covid-19 burden
Vietnam mulls electricity price cut to ease Covid-19 burden
The government has given the thumbs up to a proposed electricity price discount of 10 percent for the months of April, May and June.
A worker repairs electricity cables in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.
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The proposal by the Ministry of Industry and Trade aims to support citizens and businesses amid the Covid-19 epidemic. The ministry, however, would be gathering opinions from other ministries and sectors on guidance documents until the end of Tuesday before issuing an official decision.
Under the current proposal, a 10 percent reduction would be applied to electricity prices for households at tiers 1-4 (electricity consumption below 300 kWh).
Businesses would also receive a 10 percent discount during peak, normal and off-peak hours, while tourist accommodation would be entitled to the same electricity prices as households and production firms.
Establishments used for the concentrated quarantine or treatment of confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients would be exempted from paying electricity bills, while those that provide medical examinations, testing and treatment for confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases would receive a 20 percent discount in electricity prices.
Hotels and tourist accommodation that have been used to quarantine confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients would also be entitled to a 20 percent price downgrade.
Electricity price reductions would be applied to bills for electricity consumption in April, May and June, or bills received in May, June and July.
According to calculations, the total value of this support package for electricity consumers would be nearly VND11 trillion ($470 million), of which the amount in electricity bills saved would be VND6.1 trillion ($262.93 million) for businesses, VND2.9 trillion ($125 milion) for households, VND1.8 trillion ($77.59 million) for tourist accommodation and VND100 billion ($4.3 million) for establishments taking part in the fight against Covid-19.
