Ho Chi Minh City plans to expand direct power trading to industrial parks
Ho Chi Minh City is seeking feedback on a draft resolution that would allow businesses operating in industrial parks, hi-tech parks and other designated economic zones to participate in direct power purchase agreements (DPPAs) with electricity generators.
The draft resolution, being prepared by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, proposes expanding the pool of participants eligible for the direct electricity trading mechanism between power generators and electricity consumers.
As Vietnam’s leading economic and industrial hub, the southern metropolis is home to a large number of industrial and specialized zones with substantial and stable electricity demand.
For manufacturers seeking access to global export markets, the use of clean energy in production has increasingly become a decisive requirement.
International supply chains are placing greater emphasis on emissions reduction, sustainability and the use of renewable energy, making access to cleaner electricity increasingly important for Vietnamese businesses.
Against this backdrop, the government laid the groundwork for the DPPA mechanism under Decree No. 57/2025, supplemented by Decree No. 243/2026.
The mechanism allows electricity consumers to enter into direct contracts with renewable-energy generators.
However, implementation in Ho Chi Minh City has exposed a practical obstacle.
Under current regulations, the mechanism is primarily available to renewable-energy generators and a group defined as ‘large electricity customers.’
This requirement has effectively left thousands of small- and medium-sized factories operating in industrial parks and other specialized zones unable to participate.
Although many of these businesses need green electricity to meet the requirements of international customers, they cannot access direct clean-power supplies due to failing to meet the threshold for large electricity consumers.
Expanding eligible buyers and adding new generators
To address the bottleneck, and based on the need to concretize the Law on Urban Development, the draft resolution proposes broadening eligibility on both sides of the electricity transaction.
On the buyer side, apart from large electricity customers defined under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 29/2026, the city proposes opening the mechanism to electricity users operating in industrial parks, export-processing zones, economic zones, industrial clusters and hi-tech parks.
Other specialized areas, including concentrated digital-technology zones and hi-tech agricultural zones, would also be eligible under the proposal.
On the generation side, the draft introduces another significant change by proposing the inclusion of power generators using liquefied natural gas (LNG), alongside existing renewable-energy sources.
The addition of LNG is intended to diversify clean electricity supply and strengthen energy security as the city accelerates its transition toward lower-emission sources of power.
Despite the broader eligibility criteria, the draft shows that the proposal would not establish a separate electricity market or alter the state’s fundamental power policies.
It would not change the conditions for participation in the electricity market, nor the rights and obligations of market participants or the state’s existing electricity-management framework under the Law on Electricity.
Newly eligible generators, including LNG-fired power plants, would still be required to comply fully with technical standards, legal procedures and reporting requirements when engaging in direct electricity trading through dedicated connection grids.
Likewise, businesses purchasing electricity under the expanded mechanism would assume responsibilities and reporting obligations comparable to those imposed on large electricity customers.
Tieu Bac - Cong Trieu / Tuoi Tre News
Link nội dung: https://news.tuoitre.vn/ho-chi-minh-city-plans-to-expand-direct-power-trading-to-industrial-parks-10326090710190668.htm