Circular 16/2023/TT-BCT guidance on power purchase agreement for daily-life purpose

CIRCULAR

Providing guidance on the power purchase agreement for daily-life purpose

Pursuant to the Electricity Law dated December 03, 2004; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Electricity Law dated November 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 96/2022/ND-CP dated 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 dated 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; the Government’s Decree No. 08/2018/ND-CP dated January 15, 2018, on amending a number of the Articles of the Decrees related to business conditions under state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Government’s Decree No. 17/2020/ND-CP dated February 5, 2020, on amending and supplementing a number of Articles of Decrees concerning business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Government’s Decree No. 104/2022/ND-CP dated December 21, 2022, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decrees relating to the submission and presentation of household registration books and temporary residence books when carrying out administrative procedures or providing public services;

At the proposal of the Director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority;

The Minister of Industry and Trade hereby promulgates the Circular on providing guidance on the power purchase agreement for daily-life purpose.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular guides a number of terms of a power purchase agreement (hereinafter referred to as “PPA”) for daily-life purpose and promulgates PPA for daily-life purpose according to the form.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Electricity-retailing units (hereinafter referred to as electricity sellers).

2. Customers using electricity for daily-life purpose (hereinafter referred to as electricity buyers).

3. Other relevant agencies, organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Forms of PPA for daily-life purpose

1. PPA for daily-life purpose must be expressed in writing in paper form (this agreement is made in 02 copies with equal validity, of which each party keeps 01 copy) or electronic data (for electronic data, an electricity buyer can look up and download at the E-Portal of an electricity seller). The language used in the agreement is Vietnamese.

The parties may agree to use other Vietnamese ethnic languages or foreign languages. In case there is a difference between the Vietnamese version and other ethnic Vietnamese language version or foreign language version, the version that is more beneficial to consumers shall be given priority.

2. PPA for daily-life purpose must comply with the form in the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

Article 4. The parties to PPA for daily-life purpose

1. The party to an agreement of the electricity buyer is the representative of electricity buyer that satisfies the conditions specified in Clause 1 Article 8 of the Government’s Decree No. 104/2022/ND-CP dated December 21, 2022, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decrees relating to the submission and presentation of household registration books and temporary residence books when carrying out administrative procedures or providing public services (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 104/2022/ND-CP) and has an application for registration for electricity purchase for daily-life purpose specified in Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree No. 104/2022/ND-CP and send it to the electricity seller.

2. In case the party to an agreement of the electricity buyer including many households using electricity together under an agreement, is the representative of such households that has a power of attorney from other sharing households. Sharing households must satisfy the conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree No. 104/2022/ND-CP. The agreement must specify the number of sharing households (with an attached list) and the electricity prices applied according to regulations on implementation of electricity prices issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

3. In case the electricity buyer is a tenant, the party to an agreement of the electricity buyer shall be determined according to the regulations on implementation of electricity prices issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

4. The party to an agreement of the electricity seller is the legal or authorized representative of the electricity-retailing unit that has distribution grids capable of providing electricity to satisfy the electricity buyer's needs.

Article 5. Term of PPA for daily-life purpose

The term of an agreement is agreed upon by both parties. In case the parties do not specifically agree on the term of the agreement, the term shall be counted from the date of its signing to the date of agreement termination according to the provisions of the law.

Article 6. Implementation organizations

1. The Electricity Regulatory Authority shall take responsibility for guiding, inspecting and examining the implementation of regulations on PPA for daily-life purpose nationwide.

2. The provincial-level Departments of Industry and Trade shall take responsibility for guiding, inspecting and examining the implementation of regulations on PPA for daily-life purpose under their respective management.

3. The electricity sellers shall: register and re-register PPAs for daily-life purpose, using the form and general transaction conditions with competent state management agencies on protecting consumer rights; publicly announce the agreement according to the form, general transaction conditions and other relevant regulations of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights and guiding documents.

Article 7. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect from October 16, 2023.

The Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 19/2014/TT-BCT dated June 18, 2014, promulgating the form of power purchase agreement for daily-life purpose and the Minister of Industry and Trade’s Circular No. 38/2022/TT-BCT dated December 30, 2022, annulling Clause 1 Article 2 of Circular No. 19/2014/TT-BCT dated June 18, 2014, promulgating the form of power purchase agreement for daily-life purpose cease to be effective from the effective date of this Circular.

2. Agreements signed before the effective date of this Circular will continue to be implemented until the expiration date stated in the agreements. During the implementation, the parties must comply with the provisions of the Electricity Law, guiding documents and may agree to add new terms appropriate to the agreements according to the form in the Appendix to this Circular. In case either party or both parties wish to re-sign the agreement before the expiration date, the parties shall consider and agree to re-sign the agreement. The re-conclusion of the agreement shall comply with the provisions of this Circular.

3. During the implementation, in case the legal documents referenced in this Circular and the Appendix to this Circular are amended, supplemented or replaced, the amending, supplementing or replacing ones shall prevail.

4. During the implementation, if there are any problems, relevant organizations and individuals shall request the Electricity Regulatory Authority to research and propose the Minister of Industry and Trade to amend and supplement the Circular accordingly./.