Vietnam: The electricity seller may disconnect the electricity supply right after the written report of administrative violation is made for stealing electricity

Specifically, according to Article 10 of Circular No. 22/2020/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, with respect to cases in which the electricity seller commits acts prescribed in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, Article 7 of the Electricity Law; Point a and b of Clause 2 of Article 46; Point b and c of Clause 2 of Article 47 in the Electricity Law, procedures for disconnection of electricity supply shall be carried out as follows:

- In case the electricity buyer commits acts specified in Clause 6, Article 7 of the Electricity Law (the act of electricity theft), the electricity seller may disconnect the electricity supply right after the written report of administrative violation is made according to the provisions of Decree No. 134/2013/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government;

- In case the electricity buyer commits acts specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8, Article 7 of the Electricity Law, and the extent of the violation does not lead to the emergency electricity supply disconnection, after completely making the report of the administrative violation under the provisions of Decree No. 134/2013/NĐ-CP, the electricity seller shall be responsible for sending the notice of disconnection of electricity supply to the electricity buyer at least 24 hours before the time of disconnection of the electricity supply. After expiration of this time limit, if the electricity buyer does not put an end to the violation and does not remedy the consequences caused by the violation at the request of the electricity seller, the electricity seller shall have the right to disconnect electricity supply according to the notification;

- In case the electricity buyer violates the provisions at Point b, Clause 1, Article 7 of this Circular, the electricity seller shall have the right to disconnect the electricity supplied to the electricity buyer and must notify the electricity buyer at least 24 hours before the time of disconnection of the electricity supply.

With respect to those cases in which the electricity buyer fails to pay electricity bills according to the provisions of Clause 9 of Article 1 of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to a number of articles of the Electricity Law, procedures for disconnection of electricity supply shall be carried out as follows:

- In case there is no agreement to defer the payment due date of electricity bill and the electricity buyer has been notified by the electricity seller 2 (two) times of the electricity bill payment, 15 days after the first notification, the electricity seller shall have the right to disconnect the electricity supplied to the electricity buyer;

- In case the electricity buyer requests an agreement and the electricity seller agrees to postpone the payment due date of electricity bill but, after the agreed-upon deadline, the electricity buyer still has not fully paid for the electricity bill and the amount of interest on late payment (if any), the electricity seller shall have the right to disconnect electricity supplied to the electricity buyer;

- When the electricity supply is disconnected, the electricity seller must notify the electricity buyer at least 24 hours before the electricity supply disconnection and shall not be responsible for any damage caused by the electricity supply disconnection.

With respect to those cases of disconnection of electricity supply at the request of competent state agencies to take enforcement measures to disconnect electricity supply in accordance with Article 43 of Decree No. 134/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2013 of Vietnam’s Government providing for penalties for administrative violations in the field of electricity, hydroelectric dam safety, economical and efficient use of energy, the electricity seller must notify the electricity buyer at least 24 hours before the electricity supply disconnection, clearly stating the reasons for such disconnection. After disconnecting electricity supply, the electricity seller must notify the disconnection of electricity supply in writing to the state agency that requests the electricity supply disconnection.

With respect to those cases in which the electricity buyer fails to provide security for fulfillment of contractual obligations or fails to maintain contract performance bond under Decree No. 137/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 21, 2013 of Vietnam’s Government elaborating on the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Electricity and the Law on Amendments to certain Articles of the Law on Electricity, the electricity seller shall have the right to disconnect the electricity supplied to the electricity buyer under contractual agreements and must notify the electricity buyer at least 24 hours before the time of disconnection of the electricity supply.

View details at: Circular No. 22/2020/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam takes effect from October 30, 2020.

Le Vy

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