Circular 10/2023/TT-BCT amend Circular 21/2020/TT-BCT procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT of September 9, 2020, providing for the order and procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses^[1]

Pursuant to the December 3, 2004 Electricity Law; the November 20, 2012 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Electricity Law; and the January 11, 2022 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Public Investment, Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership, Law on Investment, Housing Law, Bidding Law, Electricity Law, Law on Enterprises, Law on Excise Tax, and Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 96/2022/ND-CP of November 29, 2022, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 137/2013/ND-CP of October 21, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Electricity Law and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Electricity Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP of January 15, 2018, amending a number of the Decrees concerning business investment conditions subject to the state management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 17/2020/ND-CP of February 5, 2020, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Decrees concerning business investment conditions subject to the state management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

At the proposal of the Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam,

The Minister of Industry and Trade promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT of September 9, 2020, providing for the order and procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT of September 9, 2020, providing for the order and procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses (below referred to as Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT)

1. To amend Clause 5, Article 4 as follows:

“5. The validity period of a to-be-granted electricity activity license is the same as that of the initial license, in case of grant of a modified/supplemented electricity activity license due to a change in one of the contents stated in the license, such as name or head office address or scope of operation.”.

2. To amend Clauses 3 and 4, Article 6 as follows:

“3. A list of consultants who hold the titles of manager and chief supervisor and other consultants, made according to Form No. 3a provided in the Appendix to this Circular; and copies of university or higher degree, construction practice certificate (for occupations/jobs requiring practice certificates in accordance with the construction law), document proving the working seniority in the field of consultancy (affidavit of employment certified by the employer or document of equivalent validity) and definite-term or indefinite-term labor contract, of every consultant.

4. Documents proving experience of consultants (decisions on task assignment or certifications given by the work/project owners, or documents of equivalent validity).”.

3. To amend Clauses 3, 4 and 9, Article 7 as follows:

“3. A list of persons directly in charge of technical management and work-shift heads of the power plant, made according to Form No. 3b provided in the Appendix to this Circular; copies of graduation degree and labor contract with the project owner or operation management unit of every person on such list; document proving the working seniority of the person directly in charge of technical management in the field of power generation (affidavit of employment certified by the employer or document of equivalent validity); and documents on training and testing results showing the trainees’ satisfaction of safety requirements and operation certificates of work-shift heads of the power plant granted by the load dispatch authority with control right according to the national load dispatch procedures promulgated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. A copy of the written approval or decision on approval of investment policy, or a copy of the investment certificate issued by a competent agency in case it is specified by the law on investment or the project owner’s investment decision; a copy of a competent agency’s written approval of construction planning.

9. For hydropower plants: a copy of the minutes of takeover testing of the hydropower dam, dam and reservoir protection plan, and disaster and emergency response plan, and a dam safety inspection report (in case the dam’s inspection time is due under regulations).”

4. To amend Clauses 3 and 4, Article 8 as follows:

“3. A list of persons directly in charge of technical management and work-shift heads in charge of operation, made according to Form No. 3b provided in the Appendix to this Circular; a copy of labor contract and a copy of graduation degree of every person on such list; document proving the working seniority of the person directly in charge of technical management in the field of electricity transmission or electricity distribution (affidavit of employment certified by the employer or document of equivalent validity); document on training and testing results showing the trainees’ satisfaction of safety requirements or electric safety cards as specified in Article 64 of the Electricity Law, and operation certificates of work-shift heads in charge of operation granted by the load dispatch authority with control right according to the national load dispatch procedures promulgated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. A list of work items of power grids (technological equipment, transmission lines and transformer stations) and scope of power grids currently managed by the institutional applicant. A copy of the minutes of takeover testing showing complete installation of work items of power grids (technological equipment, transmission lines and transformer stations). In case of acquisition or merger, or handover of power grid assets, there must be a takeover testing minutes or asset handover minutes under regulations. In case the power grid assets are under joint ownership by multiple investors, there must be a written agreement or an authorization by the owners to an operation management unit.”

5. To amend Clause 3, Article 9 as follows:

“3. A list of persons directly in charge of business administration, made according to Form No. 3b provided in the Appendix to this Circular; copies of labor contract and graduation degree of every person on such list; and document proving the working seniority of every person directly in charge of business administration in the field of electricity wholesale or electricity retail (affidavit of employment certified by the employer or document of equivalent validity).”.

6. To amend Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Dossier of request for modification and supplementation of an electricity activity license

1. In case of a change in the name or head office address of an electricity unit as specified in Clause 2, Article 14 of this Circular, a dossier must comprise:

a/ An application for an electricity activity license, made according to Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Circular;

b/ A copy of the enterprise registration certificate or establishment decision or establishment certificate (for institutions having no enterprise registration certificate) of the institutional applicant.

2. In case an institutional applicant receives assets or part of scope of operation transferred from a unit licensed for electricity activities, a dossier of request for modification of an electricity activity license must comprise:

a/ An application for an electricity activity license, made according to Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Circular;

b/ A copy of the enterprise registration certificate or establishment decision or establishment certificate (for institutions having no enterprise registration certificate) of the institutional applicant;

c/ Documents evidencing the asset transfer; and documents evidencing the transfer of personnel or documents on persons directly in charge of technical management and operation management and consultants as specified in Clause 3, Article 6; Clause 3, Article 7; Clause 3, Article 8; or Clause 3, Article 9, of this Circular in case of a change in personnel.”.

7. To add Clause 3 to Article 12 as follows:

“3. In case of applying for an electricity activity license simultaneously for electricity retail and electricity distribution fields, including the field falling within the competence of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam, the licensing agency is the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam.”.

8. To amend and supplement a number clauses of Article 14 as follows:

a/ To amend Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Within 30 days from the date of occurrence of a change in its name or head office address in the enterprise registration certificate or establishment decision or establishment certificate (for institutions having no enterprise registration certificate) as stated in the granted electricity activity license, or occurrence of a change in form of operation, scope of operation, or validity period of the granted electricity activity license, the electricity unit shall carry out procedures for requesting modification or supplementation of the license.”.

b/ To add Clause 7a below Clause 7 as follows:

“7a. Electricity generation units, electricity transmission units and electricity distribution units shall fully comply with regulations on planning, land, construction, fire prevention and fighting, environmental protection, and electrical connection, and relevant regulations before officially commissioning electricity works. For electricity works requiring a competent state management agency’s written approval of pre-acceptance test results in accordance with the construction law, the electricity generation unit, electricity transmission unit or electricity distribution unit shall obtain a written approval of the results of pre-acceptance test of completed work items or construction works from a competent state management agency in accordance with the construction law before the date the electricity works are put for commercial operation or official commissioning.”.

c/ To amend Point a, Clause 11 as follows:

“a/ Annually, electricity units (or authorized units directly in charge of operation management of electricity works) shall send reports on their operation in the licensed fields in the previous year, made according to Forms No. 4a, No. 4b, No. 4c and No. 4d provided in the Appendix to this Circular, to electricity activity license-granting agencies and provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade by hand-delivery or by post or online.

In case of applying the form of online sending of reports to the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam, the above units shall send reports via the email system ([email protected]) or send reports through the Public Service Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case of applying the form of online sending of reports to provincial-level People’s Committees and provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade (if any), the above units shall follow the guidance of provincial-level People’s Committees and provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade.

An electricity unit shall be regarded as not complying with the annual reporting regime if by the end of March 1 every year, the electricity activity license-granting agency does not receive a report on the unit’s operation in the licensed field(s) in the previous year;”.

Article 2. To add, replace or annul a number of words and phrases of Article 14 and forms provided in the Appendix to Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT 

1. To replace the ordinal number “10” with the ordinal number “12” in Clause 10 below Clause 11, Article 14.

2. To add below the phrase “Pursuant to the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT of September 9, 2020, providing for the order and procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses” in Forms No. 2a, No. 2b, No. 2c and No. 2d the following phrase:

“Pursuant to the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 10/2023/TT-BCT of April 21, 2023, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT of September 9, 2020, providing for the order and procedures for grant of electricity activity licenses;”.

3. To replace the phrase “after six months” with the phrase “no later than 6 months” in Clause 1, Article 5 of Forms No. 2a, No. 2b, No. 2c and No. 2d.

Article 3. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on June 9, 2023.

2. Electricity units that are granted electricity activity licenses before the effective date of this Circular shall continue complying with the contents and validity periods of such licenses and perform the licensed electricity units’ responsibilities and obligations which are amended and supplemented under this Circular.

3. For an electricity unit which has a change in the name or head office address in its enterprise registration certificate or establishment decision or establishment certificate as stated in the granted electricity activity license, or has a change in form of operation form, scope of operation, or validity period of the granted electricity activity license before the effective date of Circular No. 21/2020/TT-BCT, it shall carry out procedures for requesting modification or supplementation of the license within 60 dates after the effective date of this Circular.

4. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam for consideration and settlement according to its competence, or to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for settlement.-

For the Minister of Industry and Trade
Deputy Minister
DANG HOANG AN