On the evening of November 10, at the National Assembly House, under the chairmanship of National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man and with Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien presiding, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly discussed the draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Electricity.

Presenting the report on the incorporation of feedback, explanations and revisions to the draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Electricity, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Truong Thanh Hoai said the draft law had received 81 comments, including 69 during group discussions and 12 at plenary sessions, as well as 10 written submissions. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) had fully incorporated comments from National Assembly deputies and appraisal comments from National Assembly committees.

Regarding the scope of application, the draft law removes priority provisions in Articles 15, 18 and 19, retaining only the priority provision under the Law on Electricity concerning procedures for approval of investment policy.

Regarding electricity development policies, small modular nuclear reactors will be placed under strict State control. The relevant provisions in the draft law institutionalize the policy set out in the Politburo's Resolution No. 70-NQ/TW on energy security.

Regarding electricity market licenses stipulated in Articles 31, 33, 41, 44, 47 and 49, the draft law assigns the Government to prescribe cases exempt from licensing requirements.

Regarding electricity prices, the draft law has been revised in three key respects. First, time-of-use electricity pricing will only be implemented on a pilot basis. Second, low-income households will remain eligible for the tiered electricity pricing scheme. Third, the provision requiring the State to guarantee the full recovery of investment capital and costs will be abolished, with investment risks to be borne by enterprises themselves.

Regarding electricity safety, the draft law assigns the People's Committee of the province where a hydropower project is located to take the lead in approving the relevant matters after obtaining written opinions from the People's Committees of other relevant provinces.

On behalf of the reviewing body, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Chairwoman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, emphasized that, following its review, the Committee recognized the considerable efforts made by the Government and the drafting agency to study, incorporate feedback and make the maximum possible revisions to various provisions in response to opinions from the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the reviewing body and National Assembly deputies.

During the session, members of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly expressed their agreement with many provisions of the draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Electricity. Some members proposed focusing on issues where differing opinions remain and continuing to review and finalize the draft law to ensure it meets practical requirements.

Based on the opinions expressed at the session, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly agreed to submit the draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Electricity to the National Assembly for consideration, following its incorporation of feedback and revisions in accordance with the conclusions of the session.