3% power price hike not much impact on CPI
VOV.VN - The Electricity of Vietnam’s recent decision to raise the average retail price of electricity by 3% as of May 4 will not have much impact on the country’s consumer price index (CPI), according to an official of the country’s sole power group.
Nguyen Xuan Nam, deputy director general of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), cited the recent statistics by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, saying 10% and 5% electricity price hikes will fuel national CPI by 0.33% and 0.17% respectively.
A 3% hike will certainly have a smaller impact on CPI, he said at a press briefing in Hanoi on May 4.
According to Nam, such an increase is to help the group partly compensate losses it has suffered over recent years. A 2022 financial report alone shows the group sustained a loss of more than VND26 trillion as the input cost rose nearly 21.5% compared to 2021’s figure.
The group said that, if electricity prices are not increased this year, its loss will amount to VND64 trillion due to the depreciation of the domestic currency (VND) against the US dollar, the increase in input fuel prices for thermal and gas power plants, and the purchase price of renewable electricity.
This is the first average retail electricity price hike EVN has adjusted over the past four years. The decision has been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.