HCMC – Vietnam’s access-to-electricity index in 2019 reached 82.2 points, up 0.3 point compared with 2018, marking the fifth straight year the index has improved.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business report, Vietnam ranked 27th out of 190 economies globally and fourth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The index was assessed on criteria such as procedure, time and cost to connect to the grid, the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of the electricity price. In Vietnam, among 10 criteria assessing the business environment, the access-to-electricity index is in the group of the three best indicators, together with credit access and construction licenses. The country gradually improved its ranking on the index between 2013 and 2019 thanks to the continuous renewal process and comprehensive solutions for electricity access. It jumped 129 spots from 156th place to 27th during the period, the highest improvement recorded in the region. The aggressive improvement of the index demonstrated the efforts of the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to bring better quality and services to power supply. Factors for the evaluation of the access-to-electricity index in Vietnam have also improved quickly. The number of power administration procedures has been cut from six to four, while the number of working days needed to complete these procedures was also shortened from 115 to 31. Power supply reliability and the transparency of electricity prices are already on par with developed countries.