Today is the deadline for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to report to the Prime Minister on the electricity price increase.

Today is the deadline for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to report to the Prime Minister on the increase in retail electricity prices. Based on the preliminary results of the working groups' activities over the past few days, many believe the proposals are still not entirely convincing. Because...Most responses shared a common reason for the increase in electricity bills: households increased their consumption during the month, while the increase in electricity prices accounted for only a small percentage, as all electricity providers publicly disclose their prices…

The crux of the matter is not the evidence presented by the inspection team and EVN. Consumers are waiting for a different answer!

According to Ms. Le Thi Nga, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Judicial Committee, it is necessary to clarify the basis for the electricity price increase; which components of the electricity price structure are reasonable and which are not; whether the tiered pricing method in the retail electricity tariff for household consumption is still appropriate for the current period; and whether, globally, the more electricity you use, the higher the price is...

Looking back at the current electricity pricing scheme applied by EVN, which was issued in 2014 and sparked much controversy at the time, its shortcomings are now even more apparent. Specifically, the consumption limits for tiers 1 and 2 are very low; while the consumption limits for tiers 3-6 are very high. More importantly, the prices for each tier vary greatly, effectively impacting consumers by making them pay more for what they consume. With the current pricing scheme, only the electricity company benefits, while consumers feel resentful about paying higher prices.

What is the solution? Many experts have offered suggestions to ensure that EVN's business balances the interests of both the company and consumers; however, whether the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the company will heed these suggestions is another matter.

Consumers are upset not only because of the unreasonable electricity pricing method but also because of EVN's opaque business model, blurring the lines between social responsibility and business efficiency. Therefore, the first demand now is for EVN to be transparent about its profit and loss statements, and for the government to separate the funds to compensate policy beneficiaries and poor households by paying them directly to those households, instead of allowing EVN to continue its current ambiguous practices.

Furthermore, if the current tiered electricity pricing system is to be applied, it needs to be recalculated to avoid having a very low support tier and subsequent tiers that are too high; the spacing between tiers also needs careful consideration.