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The Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued Decision No. 963/QĐ-BCT establishing peak, off-peak, and normal hours for the national electricity system. The decision takes effect from 22 April 2026 and defines the applicable times by day of the week. - Peak hours apply Monday through Saturday from 17:30 to 22:30, totaling 5 hours per day. Sunday is not a peak day. - Normal hours for Monday-Saturday consist of two periods: 6:00 to 17:30 and 22:30 to 24:00, totaling 13 hours per day. On Sundays, normal hours run continuously from 6:00 to 24:00. - Off-peak hours are 0:00 to 6:00 every day, totaling 6 hours per day. EVN will implement these hours nationwide and report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade by December 15 each year or when there are changes to the load profile. The retail electricity price schedule for business customers (the industrial category) by peak/off-peak/normal hours is defined by Decision No. 1279/QĐ-BCT dated 9 May 2025, with prices varying by voltage level: - 22 kV and above: off-peak 1.609 dong/kWh; normal 2.887; peak 5.025 - 6 kV to below 22 kV: off-peak 1.829; normal 3.108; peak 5.202 - Below 6 kV: off-peak 1.918; normal 3.152; peak 5.422 For manufacturing sectors at ≥110 kV, and for other voltage bands, the schedule provides: - 110 kV and above: off-peak 1.146; normal 1.811; peak 3.266 - 22 kV to below 110 kV: off-peak 1.190; normal 1.833; peak 3.398 - 6 kV to below 22 kV: off-peak 1.234; normal 1.899; peak 3.508 - Below 6 kV: off-peak 1.300; normal 1.987; peak 3.640 As a result, business and manufacturing customers using electricity during peak hours will pay 3.266–5.422 dong/kWh depending on voltage, while off-peak prices range from 1.146–1.609 dong/kWh. The ministry notes that since 2019, the growing share of solar and changes in load composition—industrial load rising to over 50% of total load and residential demand declining—have shifted the load curve. Adjusting tariff times helps reflect supply-demand characteristics, improve system efficiency, and encourage load management and energy storage deployment. In grids with high renewable penetration, aligning peak hours with renewable output can spur storage technology deployment and help customers balance supply when the system needs additional capacity.
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