The Prime Minister has ordered an investigation into the electricity price increase.

The Government Office has just sent a document to relevant ministries regarding the adjustment of retail electricity prices from March 20th. Accordingly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested the Government Inspectorate to take the lead, in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, in inspecting the adjustment of electricity prices, the pricing method, and the collection of electricity bills over the past period. These agencies are responsible for clarifying the correctness or incorrectness of the electricity price increase and reporting to the Prime Minister in June 2019.

Illustration

The Prime Minister's decision comes after complaints about a sharp increase in electricity bills in April due to an 8.36% increase in the average retail electricity price effective from March 20th.

Many consumers have expressed surprise at receiving electricity bills for April that were significantly higher than those for March. The electricity sector has cited three reasons for this phenomenon: hot weather, increased electricity consumption by households, and partly due to an increase in retail electricity prices.